JOHN  BULL  &  CO. 


z 


^2-^ 


JOHN  BULL  &  CO. 


7 


THE  GREAT  COLONIAL  BRANCHES  OF  THE  FIRM: 

CANADA,  AUSTRALIA,  NEW  ZEALAND 

AND  SOUTH  AFRICA 


BY 

MAX   O'RELL 

Author  of  "  John  Bull  and  his  Island,"  "  Jonathan  and  his  Continent," 
"  A  Frenchman  in  America,"  etc.,  etc. 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLHS  L.  WEBSTER  &  COMPANY 

1894 


f 


Copyright,  1894, 

By  Bainbridge  Colby. 

\AU  rights  reserved.^ 


PRESS  OF 

JENKINS  k  McCOWAN, 

NKW  YORK. 


TO 

MY  TRAVELING   COMPANIONS 
AROUND   THE   WORLD, 

MY   V/iFE 

AND 

MY  DAUGHTER. 


Ill 


'W 


II 


CONTENTS. 


An  Introductory  Rkminder 


PACK 

II 


CHAPTER  I 


France,  the  First  Country  of  the  World — Foreijjners,  and  what 
is  Understood  by  the  Term — Britishers — Englishmen  at 
Home  and  Germans  Abroad — Branch  Establishments  of 
John  Bit"  &  Co.  .  .  .  .  .  -15 

CHAPTER  n 

French  Canada — Quebec — A  Bit  of  France  Fiuried  in  the  Snow — 
The  French  Canadians  are  the  French  of  the  Seventeenth 
Century — Puritan  Catholicism — The  Frozen  St.  Lawrence — 
Montreal — Canadian  Sports — I  Meet  Tariarin  .  .     22 

CHAPTER  HI 

Ottawa — Toronto — The  Canadian  V/omen — Winnipeg  and  St. 
Boniface,  or  England  and  France,  Ten  Minutes'  Walk  from 
Each  Other — The  Political  Parties  of  Canada. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Flying  Through  the  Far  West — The  Prairies — Colorado — Den- 
ver— The  Rockies — Salt  Lake  City — The  Mormons — The 
Desert — The  Sierras — The  Plains  of  California — San  Fran- 
cisco— China  Town — Impressions  Confirmed — A  Branch  of 
the  Firm  John  Bull  &  Co.  Started  in  Business  for  Itself 

CHAPTER  V 


29 


33 


The  Pacific  Ocean — The  Sandwich  Islands — Honolulu — The 
Southern  Cross — What  a  Swindle  ' — The  Samoan  Islands — 
Apia — Mr.  Robert  Louis  Stevenson — Auckland — Arrival  of 
the  Philistines      .  .  .  .  .  .  .40 

CHAPTER  VI 

Sydney — I  have  seen  the  Harbor — The  Australia  Hotel — The 
French  in  Sydney — The  Town — The  Parks — Cupid  in  the 
Open  Air — Little  Clandestine  Visits  to  the  South  Head — 
*•  Engaged" — Melbourne — Activity  —  All  Scottish  —  The 
Holy  Tartu  fes — Adelaide — Brisbane — Ballarat — Bendigo — 
Geelong  .  .  .  .  .  .  ,51 


0  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII 

PACK 

People  of  Society,  People  in  Society,  and  "Society"  People — 
The  "  Sets  " — Society  Papers — "  Miss  D.  Looked  Thrillingly 
Lovely  in  Electric  Blue " — The  Australian  Women  are 
Beautiful — Imitation  of  the  Old  World — A  Tasmanian  Snob 
— Darling  Point,  Pott's  Point,  and  Sore  Point — A  Melbourne 
Journalist  on  His  Townspeople  .  .  .  -71 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Hospitality  in  the  Colonies — Different  People  at  Home  and 
Abroad — Extreme  Courtesy  of  the  Australian — Childishness 
—Visit  to  the  Four  Everlasting  Buildings  of  the  Colonial 
Towns — Impressions — Wild  Expenditure — Give  Us  a  Prison 
—"Who  is  Bismarck  ?"—"  Don't  know  "—In  the  Olden 
Time         .  _  .  .  .  .  .  -79 

CHAPTER  IX 

Colonial  "Cheek"' — Mutual  Admiration  Society — An  Inquisitive 
Colonial — A  Verbatim  Conversation — An  Amiable  Landlord 
— Modest  Politicians — Advice  to  England  by  an  Australian 
Minister — Provincialisms — Napier — Opinions  on  Madame 
Sarah  Bernhardt — Mr.  H.  M.  Stanley  and  the  Municipal 
Councilor — The  Czar  had  Better  Behave  Himself — I  Intro- 
duce Sophocles  to  the  Colonies  and  Serve  Corneille  a  Bad 
Turn — An  Invitation  Accepted  with  a  Vengeance        .  .     87 

CHAPTER  X 

The  Curse  of  the  Colonies — A  Perfect  Gentleman — A  Town  Full 
of  Animation — A  Drunkard  Begs  me  to  give  the  Audience  a 
Lecture  on  Waterloo — A  Jolly  Fellow — Pater  Familias  on  the 
Spree — An  Ingenious  Drunkard — Great  Feats — Taverns  and 
Teetotalers — Why  there  are  no  Caf6s  in  the  Colonies — A 
Philosopher — Why  a  Young  English  Girl  could  not  get  En- 
gaged     .  ,  .  .  .  .  .  .     101 

CHAPTER  XI 

Types — Caprices  of  Nature — Menanrl  Women — Precocious  Chil- 
dren— Prehistoric  Dress — Timidity  of  the  Women — I  Shock 
some  Tasmanian  Ladies — Anglo-Saxon  Contrasts       .  .116 

CHAPTER  XII 

The  Bush — The  Eucalyptus — The  Climate — Description  of  the 
Bush  and  its  Inhabitants — The  Concert  of  the  Bush — The 
Tragedians  and  the  Clowns  of  the  Company — The  Kangaroo 
— The  W^orkers  and  the  Idlers  of  the  Bush  —  Beggars  on 
Horseback  .......   122 


CONTENTS.  7 

CHAPTER  XIII 

PAGE 

The  Most  Piquant  Thing  in  Australia — Aspect  oi  the  Small 
Towns — Each  takes  his  Pleasure  where  he  Finds  it — Aus- 
tralian Life — Tea,  always  Tea — Whiskey  or  Water — Favorite 
Occupation — Seven  Meals  a  Day — Squatters  .  •   131 

CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Australian  Natives — The  Last  Tasmanian  is  in  the  Museum 
— A  Broken-down  King  Accepts  my  Penny — Diana  Pays  me 
a  Visit — The  Trackers — The  Queensland  Aborigines — The 
Boomerang — Curious  Rites — The  Ladies  Refuse  to  Wash 
for  the  Bachelors  .  .  .  .  .  .   142 

CHAPTER  XV 

Politics  and  Politicians — The  Price  of  Liberty — The  Legislative 
Chambers — Governors — Comparisons  between  American  and 
British  Institutions — The  Politician  and  the  Order,  of  St. 
Michael  and  St.  George — An  Eloquent  Candidate — The  Hon- 
orables — Colonial  Peerage — Sir  Henry  Parkes — A  Word  to 
Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria      .....   148 

CHAPTER  XVI 

The  Resources  of  Australia — The  Mines — 2,500  Per  Cent.  Div- 
idends— Wool — Viticulture — The  Wealth  of  Australia  Com- 
pared to  the  Wealth  of  Most  Other  Countries — Why  France 
is  Richer  than  Other  Nations    .  .  .  .  .156 

CHAPTER  XVII 

The  Workman  Sovereign  Master  of  Australia — His  Character — 
The  Artist  and  the  Bungler — A  Sham  Democrat — Govern- 
ment by  and  for  the  Workingman — Public  Orators — Stories 
of  Workmen — End  of  the  Tragic  Story  of  a  Russian  Trav- 
eler ........   162 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  Religions  of  the  Colonies — The  Catholic  Church  and  Its 
Work — The  Baptists  and  the  Sweet  Shops — Good  News  for 
the  Little  Ones — A  Presbyterian  Landlady  in  Difficulties — I 
Give  a  Presbyterian  Minister  His  Deserts — Christian  Asso- 
ciation of  Good  Youtig  Men — The  Big  Drum,  or  the  Church 
at  the  Fair — Pious  Bankers — An  Edifying  Prayer       .  .170 

CHAPTER  XIX 

The  Australian  Newspapers — The  Large  Dailies — Weekly  Edi- 
tions—The  "  Australasian  " — The  Comic  Papers — The  So- 
ciety Papers— The  "  Bulletin  "  .  .  .  .184 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XX 

PAGE 

Amusements  at  the  Antipodes — The  Australian  Gayer  than  tiie 
Englishman  —  Melbourne  —  Lord  Ilopctoun  —  The  Racing 
Craze — The  Melbourne  Cup — Flemington  Compareu  with 
Longchamps  and   Epsom  .  .  .  .  .    i8S 

CHAPTER  XXI 

The  Drama  in  the  Colonies — Madame  Sarah  Bernhardt  in 
Australia — Anglo-Saxon  Theatres  Compared  with  Theatres 
in  Paris — Variety  Shows — The  Purveyor  of  Intellectual 
Pleasures — An  Important  Actor — The  Theatre  in  Small 
Towns      ...,,,..   195 

CHAPTER  XXII 

Railroads  in  the  Colonies — You  Set  Out  but  You  Do  Not  Arrive — 
A  Woman  in  a  Hurry — Mixed  Trains — First  Class  Travelers 
— Curious  Traveling  Companions         ....  202 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

Spirit    of    Nationality    and     Independence — Local    Patriotism — 

Every  Man  for  himself  and  the  Colonies  for  the  Colonials     .  206 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

Tasmania — The  Country — The  Inhabitants  of  Other  Days  and 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  Present  Day — Visit  to  the  Depots — 
Survivors  of  the  "  Ancien  Regime  " — A  Tough  old  Scotch- 
woman— A  Touching  Scene — Launceston  and  Hobart  .   210 

CHAPTER  XXV 

New  Zealand — Norway  and  Switzerland  at  the  Antipodes — The 
Point  of  the  Earth's  Surface  that  is  Farthest  from  Paris — 
No  Snakes,  but  a  Great  Many  Scots — The  Small  Towns — A 
Curious  Inscription         ......  219 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

The  Maoris — Types — Tattooing — Ways  and  Customs — Native 
Chivalry — The  Legends  of  the  Country — Sir  George  Grey — 
Lucky  Landlords — The  "  Haka  " — The  Beautiful  Victoria 
— Maori  Villages — New  Zealand  the  Prettiest  Country  in 
the  World  ......  227 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

From  Melbourne  to  the  Cape  of  Gooil  Hope — The   'Australasian' 
— Sunday  on   Board    Ship — Conversions — Death    of  a  Poor 
Mother — Ceremony — Table  Bay — Arrival  at  Cape  Town       .   240 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXVTII 

Anglo-Dutch — John  Bull,  Charged  with  the  Care  of  the  Cape  for 
the  Prince  of  Orange,  Keeps  it  for  Himself — Mixture  of 
Races — Cape  Town — The  Town  and  its  Environs — Paarl — 
The  Huguenots  —  Stellenbosch — Happy  Folk  —  Drapers' 
Assistants — Independence  a  Characteristic  Feature  of  South 
Africans  ....... 


P.AGF. 


245 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

Tlie  Dutch  Puritans — "The  Doppers  " — A  Case  of  Conscience  — 
The  Afrikander-Bond  —  Its  Relations  with  John  Hull  — 
Tickets  at  Reduced  Price — John  Hull  lies  Low — **  God  Save 
the  Queen"  in  the  South  African  Republic     ,  .  .  253 

CHAPTER  XXX 


Mr.  Rhodes,  Premier  of  Cape  Colony- 
His  Aim 


The  Man — His  Work- 


257 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

South  African  Towns — The  Hotels — The  Usefulness  of  the  Moon 
— Kaffirland — Kimberley  —  The  Diamond  Mines — Ihe  De 
Heers  Company — A  Week's  Find — Life  in  the  "  Compounds" 
— A  Disagreeable  Week  before  going  to  buy  Wives  .  260 

CHAPITER  XXXII 

The  Country— The  "  Veld  "—The  Plateaus— The  Climate— The 
South  African  Animals — The  Ant-hills — The  South  Coast 
— Natal — Durban,  the  Prettiest  Town  in  South  Africa — 
Zulus  and  Coolies  ......  271 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

The  Natives  of  South  Africa — First  Disappointment — Natives  in 
a  Natural  State  —  Scenes  of  Savage  Life — The  Kraal — 
Customs — The  Women — Types — Among  the  Kaffirs  and  the 
Zulus — Zulus  in  "  Undress" — I  buy  a  Lady's  Costume,  and 
Carry  it  off  in  my  Pocket — What  Strange  Places  Virtue 
Hides  in — The  Missionaries  gone  to  the  Wrong  Place 


279 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

The  Orange  Free  State — The  Transvaal — A  Page  or  Two  of 
History — The  Hoers  at  Home— Manners  and  Customs — The 
Hoers  and  the  Locusts — 'The  Hoers  will  have  to  "  Mend  or 
End  ■  ■  —  Hloemfontein,  Pretoria,  and  Johannesburg     .  .   292 


lO  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXV 

PA  .E 

Johannesburg.  the  Gold  City — The  Boers  again — The  Future  of 
the  Transvaal — Miraculous  Development  of  Johannesburg — 
Strange  Society — Stranger  Wives  and  Husbands — Aristoc- 
racy in  Low  Water — The  Captain  and  the  Magistrate  .  300 

CHAPTER  XXXVI 

"Oorn"  Paul,  President  of  the  Transvaal — John  Bull's  Redoubt- 
able Adversary — A  Short  Interview  with  this  Interesting 
Personage — A  Picturesque  Meeting  between  two  Diplomats     307 

CHAPTER  XXXVII 

The  Success  of  the  Firm,  John  Bull  &  Co.  — The  Explanation 
— The  Freest  Countries  of  the  World — Illustrations  to  Prove 
it — The  Future  of  the  British  Empire — Reflections  of  a  Sour 
Critic — Advice  to  Young  Men — And  Now  Let  Us  Go  Back 
and  Look  on  an  Old  Wall  Covered  with  Ivy    .  .  .  313 


AN  INTRODUCTORY  REMINDER. 


An  Englishman  was  one  day  swaggering  before  a 
Frenchman  about  the  immensity  of  the  British  Empire, 
and  he  concluded  his  remarks  by  saying,  "  Please  to 
remember,  my  dear  sir,  that  the  sun  never  sets  on  the 
possessions  of  the  English."  "  I  am  not  surprised  at 
that,"  replied  the  good  Frenchman;  ''  the  sun  is  obliged 
to  always  keep  an  eye  on  the  rascals." 

Here  are  the  details  of  that  British  Empire  which  pre- 
vents the  sun  from  enjoying  a  few  hours'  rest  every 
night.  I  borrow  them,  bringing  them  up  to  date,  from 
John  Bull  and  his  Island,  of  which  volume  this  is  the 
companion  and  supplement. 

"John  Bull's  estate,  which  he  quietly  adds  a  little 
piece  to  day  by  day,  consists  of  the  British  Isles,  to 
which  he  has  given  the  rather  queer  name  of  United 
Kingdom,  to  make  you  believe  that  Pat  is  fond  of  him  ; 
the  Channel  Islands  ;  the  fortress  of  Gibraltar,  which 
enables  him  to  pass  comfortably  through  the  narrowest 
of  straits ;  and  the  islands  of  Malta  and  Cyprus,  that 
serve  him  as  advanced  sentinels  in  the  Mediterranean. 
He  has  not  Constantinople — which  is  to  be   regretted. 


II 


12  AN  INTRODUCTORY  REMINDER. 

If  ever  he  should  get  it,  he  would   be  satisfied  with  his 
slice  of  Europe. 

"  In  Egypt  he  is  not  quite  at  home  yet.  He  took 
great  care  not  to  invent  the  Suez  Canal.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  moved  heaven  and  earth  to  try  and  prevent 
its  being  made,  and  he  called  M.  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps, 
at  the  time  he  conceived  the  idea,  *  a  dangerous  lu- 
natic' To-day  he  has  ;^4,ooo,C)00  of  public  money 
invested  in  the  concern,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  now, 
as  he  receives  his  dividends,  he  takes  quite  a  different 
view  of  that  great  undertaking. 

"  From  Aden,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Indian  Ocean, 
he  can  quietly  contemplate  the  finest  jewel  in  his  crown, 
the  Indian  Empire — an  empire  of  two  hundred  and 
eighty-five  millions  of  people,  ruled  by  princes  literally 
covered  with  gold  and  precious  stones,  who  black  his 
boots  and  look  happy. 

**  On  the  West  Coast  of  Africa  he  possesses  Sierra 
Leone,  Gambia,  the  Gold  Coast,  Lagos,  Ascension,  St. 
Helena,  where  he  kept  in  chains  the  greatest  soldier  and 
the  most  formidable  monarch  of  modern  times.  In  the 
East,  the  Island  of  Mauritius  belongs  to  him.  In  the 
South,  he  has  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Natal,  and  he 
protects  Zululand,  Pondoland,  Basutoland,  Nyassaland, 
Bcchuanaland,  Mashonaland,  Matabeleland,  and  a  few 
other  little  lands  about  there. 

"  In  America  he  does  not  possess  quite  as  much  as 
he  used  to,  but  he  says  he  does  not  want  it.     He  still 


AN    INTRODUCTORY    REMINDER.  1 3 

reckons  among  his  possessions  there,  Canada,  New- 
foundland, Bermu  i?,  the  West  Indies,  Jamaica,  part  of 
Honduras,  the  Island  of  Trinidad,  English  Guiana,  Falk- 
land, etc. 

"  Correctly  speaking,  Oceanica  belongs  to  him  en- 
tirely. New  Zealand  is  twice  as  large  as  England,  and 
Australia  alone  covers  an  area  equal  to  that  of  almost 
the  whole  of  Europe. 

"  '  But  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole 
world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  '  says  Scripture.  This  is 
just  what  John  Bull  thought,  and  so,  in  the  other  world, 
he  has  knocked  down  to  himself  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven, in  his  eyes  as  incontestably  a  British  possession  as 
India,  Canada,  or  Australia." 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  omissions,  more  or  less 
important,  such  are  the  assets  of  the  firm,  John  Bull 
&  Co, 


JOHN  BULL  &  CO. 


CHAPTER  I. 

France  the  First  Country  of  the  World — Foreigners,  and  what  is 
Understood  by  the  Term — Britishers — EngUshmen  at  Home 
and  Germans  Abroad — Branch  Establishments  of  John  Bull 
&Co. 

France  is  the  foremost  country  of  the  world.  This 
is  a  fact  which  it  were  puerile  to  seek  to  prove,  seeing 
that  the  French  admit  it  themselves. 

Happy  and  content  in  their  own  country,  which  is 
able  to  support  them,  the  French,  of  all  the  nations  of 
the  world,  are  the  people  who  least  bother  their  heads 
about  what  is  happening  outside  it :  in  fact,  the  masses 
of  the  people  are  in  crass  ignorance  about  the  rest  of 
the  planet. 

The  Englishman  somewhat  despises  foreigners ;  the 
Swiss  loves  them  as  the  sportsman  loves  game  ;  the  Ger- 
man looks  upon  them  as  heaven-sent  blessings  that  per- 
mit him  to  earn  a  peaceful  living  far  from  his  fatherland, 
now  turned  into  a  huge  garrison.  The  Frenchman  has 
quite  a  different  feeling  toward  foreigners :  he  does  not 
dislike,  nor  does  he  despise  them  ;  he  pities  them,  and 
thinks  them  vastly  amusing.  The  Frenchman  even  be- 
lieves in  his  heart  that  foreigners  were  created  and  sent 
into  the  world  to  minister  to  his  diversion.     He  looks 


1 6  JOHN    IJULL    &    CO. 

Upon  the  Belgian  as  a  dear,  good  simpleton,  the  Italian 
as  a  noisy  nobody,  the  German  as  a  heavy,  pompous 
pedant ;  he  thinks  the  Americans  mad  and  the  English 
eccentric  and  grotesque.  And  he  goes  on  his  way  de- 
lighted. 

I  have  seen  French  people  laugh  side-splittingly  when 
I  told  them  that  the  English  drink  champagne  with 
their  dinner  and  claret  at  dessert. 

To  be  sure,  my  own  way  of  looking  at  these  things  is 
very  much  the  same.  How  should  it  be  otherwise  ? 
After  all,  a  Frenchman  is  a  Frenchman  to  the  end  of 
the  chapter. 

However,  eight  years  of  constant  traveling  about  the 
world  must  have  rubbed  off  some  of  my  angles  in  the 
way  of  French  provincialism,  and  I  believe  myself  to 
have  become  so  far  cosmopolitan  that  the  reader  may 
accept  as  pretty  impartial  the  impressions  (I  say  im- 
pressions and  not  opinions^  contained  in  this  little  volume. 

Of  one  thing,  at  all  events,  I  am  firmly  convinced,  and 
that  is  that  one  nation  is  not  better  nor  worse  than  an- 
other ;  each  one  is  different  from  the  others,  that  is  all. 
This  is  a  deep  conviction  forced  upon  one  by  travel. 

To  a  great  many  people,  the  word  foreigner  signifies 
a  droll  creature,  a  kind  of  savage.  In  the  eyes  of  a 
traveler,  a  foreigner  is  a  worthy  man  who  is  as  good  as 
himself,  and  who  belongs  to  a  nation  which  has  as  many 
good  qualities  as  the  one  that  he  himself  hails  from. 
After  all,  no  one  is  born  a  foreigner :  we  all  belong  some- 
where, do  we  not  ? 

I  remember  an  American  who  opened  a  conversation 
with  me  by  launching  at  me,  as  a  preliminary,  the  fol- 
lowing question : 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  17 

"  Foreigner,  ain't  you  ?  " 

"  I  shall  be,*'  I  replied,  "  when  I  set  foot  in  your  coun- 
try." 

We  were  on  board  the  steamer  between  Liverpool 
and  New  York. 

If  everyone  traveled  much,  the  peace  of  the  world 
would  be  secure. 

"Traveling,"  said  Madam  de  Stael,  "is  a  sad  pleas- 
ure." I  think  it  is  a  most  interesting  occupation  ;  be- 
sides, is  it  not,  up  to  now,  the  only  way  that  has  been 
invented  for  seeing  and  knowing  the  world  ?  Man  in- 
terests me  everywhere,  whether  he  be  white  or  black, 
civilized  or  savage,  and  that  is  why  I  travel. 

But  in  this  volume  the  subject  for  treatment  is  not 
the  world  in  general,  but  that  British  world  of  which 
England  itself  gives  but  a  faint  idea.  To  see  the  Eng- 
lishman— the  Britisher,  rather — in  all  his  glory,  you  must 
look  at  him  in  those  lands  where  he  has  elbow-room, 
where  nothing  trammels  him  and  where  he  has  been  al- 
lowed to  freely  develop  his  characteristic  traits.  It  was 
with  this  object  in  view  that  I  set  out  two  years  ago  to 
visit  him  in  all  imaginable  climates,  from  forty  below 
zero  to  a  hundred  and  ten  above  (perfect  Turkish  baths)  ; 
that  I  pushed  into  the  far  corners  of  Canada  and  the 
United  States  ;  visited  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  Aus- 
tralia, Tasmania,  New  Zealand,  from  north  to  south, 
from  east  to  west ;  traveled  all  over  South  Africa,  Cape 
Colony,  Natal,  the  now  independent  republics  of  the 
Transvaal  and  the  Orange  Free  State  ;  in  a  word,  all 
those  worlds  which  English  energy  has  raised,  as  if  by 
enchantment,  in  the  most  distant  oceans. 

Another  conviction  that  I  have  acquired  in  traveling 


I 


1 8  JOHN    IJULL    &    CO. 

is  that  nations  are  like  individuals  :  when  they  succeed 
at  something,  it  is  because  they  possess  qualities  which 
explain  their  success.  And  I  hope  the  reader,  vv  hen  he 
closes  these  pages,  will  be  able  to  explain  to  himself 
how  the  English  have  succeeded  in  founding  the  British 
Empire. 

India  I  have  kept  for  another  voyage. 

India  is  not  a  colony  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  wora  ; 
it  is  a  possession,  an  asset  of  the  firm,  John  Bull  &  Co., 
whereas  the  Colonies  which  I  visited  are  branches  of  the 
said  firm.     The  difference  is  very  distinct. 

In  India  is  to  be  seen  John  BmU  Pacha,  ^  grand  scigji- 
eiir,  followed  by  gaily  robed  servitors  who  do  profound 
obeisance  lo  him.  It  is  the  master  in  the  midst  of  a  sub- 
jected people.  In  the  Colonies  the  conquered  races  have 
been  suppressed.  In  Canada  you  see  John  Bull  quite 
at  home,  busy,  fat  and  flourishing,  a  pink  tip  to  his  nose, 
and  his  head  snug  in  a  fur  cap :  it  is  John  Bull  in  a  ball. 
It  is  the  seal.  In  Australia  you  see  him  long  and  lean, 
nonchalant,  happy-go-lucky,  his  face  sunburned,  his  head 
crowned  with  a  wide-brimmed  light  felt  hat,  walking 
with  slow  tread,  his  arms  pendant,  his  legs  out  of  all 
proportion.  It  is  John  Bull  drawn  out.  It  is  the  kanga- 
roo. 

But  it  is  John  Bull  still,  John  Bull  Junior,  eating  his 
morning  porridge,  and  living  just  as  if  he  were  still  in 
his  old  island,  eating  his  roast  beef  and  plum  pudding, 
and  washing  it  down  with  tea  or  whiskey.  He  is  hardly 
changed  at  all. 

Two  full  years  without  a  break,  what  a  voyage !  Two 
years  without  speaking,  and  almost  without  hearing,  any- 


JOHN    hVlA,    &    CO. 


19 


thinj;  but  Rnjrlish  !  No  French  to  be  heard  anywhere 
except  in  Canada — what  a  humihation  for  a  fellow- 
countryman  of  Jacques  Cartier !  However,  something 
that  cheered  me  greatly  was  that  everywhere  I  went  I 
found  Germans  blacking  boots  and  waiting  at  table.  I 
neither  speak  nor  understand  German,  and  am  foolish 
enough  to  boast  of  it ;  but  this  has  caused  me  no  incon- 
venience of  any  kind.  The  Germans  speak  English  and 
even  frequently  forget  their  own  tongue.  This  is  very 
sensible  of  them,  for  it  is  far  easier  to  learn  any  other 
language  than  to  try  to  remember  German.  And  that 
is  why  the  Germans  of  New  York,  Chicago,  Sydney, 
Adelaide,  and  the  Cape  speak,  think,  believe,  and  pray 
with  the  English. 

I  one  day  asked  a  distinguished  English  writer,  who 
had  been  around  the  world  several  times,  whether  he 
intended  to  publish  his  impressions  of  Australia. 

*'  My  dear  fellow,"  he  replied,  '*  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Colonies  are  so  kind,  so  hospitable,  so  proud  of  their 
country!  How  on  earth  can  I  write  a  book  and  tell 
them  how  bored  I  was  all  the  time  I  was  there  ?  " 

It  is  a  fact  that  no  one  can  expect  to  find  the  country 
that  has  a  future  as  interesting  as  the  one  that  has  a  past. 
My  English  confrere  was  not  only  a  WTiter,  he  was  an 
artist,  and  young  countries  seldom  contain  the  where- 
with to  satisfy  artistic  tastes.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
you  have  any  sympathy  with  your  subject,  if  human 
nature  interests  you,  if  you  are  curious  to  learn  how 
nations  have  been  born,  and  how  national  character  is 
developed,  is  there  not  in  the  Colonies,  just  as  in  the 
United  States,  a  vast  field  of  observation  to  explore  ? 

Sixty  years  ago  England  u'^ed  to  send  her  convicts  to 


20  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

Australia,  as  we  French  still  send  ours  to  New  Cale- 
donia. At  the  present  time  Australia  has  towns  as  im- 
portant and  as  populous  as  Marseilles  and  Liverpool. 

Will  it  not  interest  us  to  have  a  look  at  John  Bull 
disguised  as  an  Australian,  swearing  by  Australia,  and 
ready  to  send  the  English  about  their  business  if  ever 
they  should  take  it  upon  them  to  meddle  too  much 
with  his  affairs  ?  Will  it  not  be  interesting  to  watch  the 
evolution  of  all  the  eccentricities  of  the  English  char- 
acter ? 

If  the  English  writer  in  question  found  his  sojourn 
in  Australia  tiresome,  I  found  mine  very  entertain- 
ing. It  is  true  that  I  missed  seeing  many  picturesque 
scenes ;  but  that  was  not  my  fault.  I  was  in  the  hands 
of  an  impresario,*  who  constantly  reminded  me,  when 
I  asked  him  to  take  me  to  see  some  renowned  beautiful 
place  in  the  neighborhood,  that  he  was  not  a  tourist 
agent,  but  only  a  lecture  manager ;  and  he  understood 
his  business  so  well  that  it  would  have  been  ungrateful 
on  my  part  to  utter  a  murmur.  My  manager  appeared 
to  have  no  taste  for  scenery,  and  the  finest  prospect 
that  could  be  offered  to  his  gaze  was  a  hall  crowded 
with  people  who  had  come  to  hear  me  talk. 

If  I  did  not  see  all  the  country,  I  believe  I  saw  all  the 
people.  This  is  the  essential  point  in  the  case  of  studies 
which,  light  as  they  may  be,  are  studies  of  character. 

Let  us,  then,  study  the  English  in  all  those  countries 
that  are  to  be  seen  marked  in  red  on  the  maps  of  the 

*  Between  September  21,  1891,  and  August  21,  1893,  I  gave  446  pub- 
lic lectures  in  the  United  States,  Canada,  Australia  and  New  Zealand 
and  South  Africa,  under  the  direction  of  Major  Pond  in  America, 
and  of  Mr.  Robert  S.  Smvthe  in  the  Colonies. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


21 


world  published  in  England— countries  that  John  Bull 
has  acquired  at  the  cost  of  very  little  blood  and  a  good 
deal  of  whiskey,  always  converting  the  natives  to  Chris- 
tianity and  their  territory  to  his  own  uses. 


CHAPTER  11. 

French  Canada* — Quebec — A  Bit  of  France  Buried  in  the  Snow 
— The  French  Canadians  are  the  French  of  the  Seventeenth 
Century — Puritan  Catholicism — The  Frozen  St.  Lawrence — 
Montreal — Canadian  Sports — I  Meet  Tartarin. 

If  you  are  in  a  hurry  to  reach  San  Francisco,  book 
your  seat  by  the  New  York  Central  Railway,  but  make 
a  short  halt  at  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  for  the  world  has 
nothing  grander  to  offer  to  your  sight.  When  you  have 
well  feasted  your  eyes  and  drunk  in  the  wonders  around 
you,  take  the  next  train,  and  for  two  days  and  a  half 
travel  incessantly :  get  over  the  ground  as  fast  as  you 
can,  and  you  may  as  well  lower  the  blinds  to  spare  your- 
self the  monotony  of  the  interminable  prairies.  Read, 
eat,  smoke,  and  sleep,  if  you  can.  When  you  get  within 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  of  Denver,  lift  the  blinds  again 
and  look  about  you,  for  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  in 
sight.  From  Denver  to  San  Francisco  do  not  miss  a 
single  detail  of  the  landscape  ;  a  series  of  enchantments 
awaits  you  and  will  unfold  itself,  hour  after  hour,  as  the 
train  flies  along  the  rails.  If,  however,  you  are  not  in 
a  hurry,  pay  a  visit  to  Canada,  French  Canada  especially, 
for  it  is  the  quaintest  and  perhaps  the  most  interesting 
part  of  the  great  Western  Continent. 

In  America,  John  Bull  does  not  possess  quite  as  much 
as  he  used  to ;  but  he  says  he  does  not  want  it.     He  is 

*On  this  journey  I  only  spent  a  few  days  in  Canada.  In  a  former 
volume  I  wrote  some  impressions  of  that  country. 

22 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  2$ 

a  philosopher.  He  even  goes  so  far  as  to  congratulate 
his  cousin  Jonathan  on  having  made  himself  master  in 
his  own  house,  and  certain  wise  people  in  Britain  assert 
that  it  was  predicted  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  that  the 
House  of  Israel  should  one  day  be  divided,  and  that  an 
important  remnant  of  it  would  declare  its  independence. 
By  the  House  of  Israel,  or  the  chosen  people  of  God, 
must  be  understood  the  British  nation ;  the  remnant  is 
America.     It  is  all  as  plain  as  A  B  C. 

Canada  still  belongs  to  England,  and  it  is  a  very 
pretty  dependency,  with  a  superficial  area  almost  equal 
to  that  of  the  United  States. 

I  know  nothing  more  picturesque  than  the  scenery 
between  New  York  and  Albany  along  the  Hudson 
River  in  autumn,  when  America  has  wrapped  herself  in 
her  mantle  of  scarlet  and  gold,  and  the  clear  blue  sky  is 
reflected  in  the  dancing  waves  of  the  noble  Hudson. 

From  Albany,  pass  into  Maine  and  New  England, 
across  immense  pine  forests,  and  later  the  White  Moun- 
tains, dominated  by  Mount  Washington.  Passes,  prec- 
ipices, waterfalls,  beautify  the  landscape,  and  Switzer- 
land has  nothing  wilder  or  more  picturesque  to  offer. 
From  there  push  on  into  Canada,  and  let  your  first  halt 
be  at  Quebec,  on  the  confluence  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  St.  Charles  rivers. 

When  I  visited  Quebec  the  ice  of  winter  was  break- 
ing up,  and  the  rivers  were  full  of  small  icebergs,  which 
made  the  crossing  from  the  train  at  Pont  Levis  quite  an 
exciting  voyage.  The  skipper  of  the  ferry-boat  waited 
and  watched  until  a  comparatively  clear  passage  seemed 
possible,  and  at  last,  with  many  twistings  and  dodgings 
and  bumps,  the  boat  reached  the  Quebec  quay.     The 


24 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


people  speak  of  this  annual  break-up  of  winter  as  "  the 
flood,"  and  when  the  melted  snow  comes  down  from 
the  upper  town,  a  house  in  the  lower  part  of  Que- 
bec must  be  anything  but  a  desirable  residence.  In 
many  streets  the  roadway  had  been  raised  eight  or  ten 
feet  by  the  snows  which  had  been  cleared  from  the  pave- 
ments   after   each    fall    and    heaped    up    in    the    road. 


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rmmm^^M. 

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.^'   -«^'^^-2^:i;- 

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^--  -^  1-/,^T 

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r 

1      '    • 

QUEBEC. 

Along  this  elevated  way  the  sleighs  ran  above  the  level 
of  the  pedestrian's  head. 

The  grandeur  of  the  mighty  cliff,  crowned  with  the 
citadel,  charms  your  gaze,  and  a  stroll  through  the  city 
will  make  you  believe  you  have  strayed  into  some  old 
Breton  town,  the  sing-song  intonation  in  the  people's 
speech,  the  sign-boards  over  the  doors.  An  Bon  St.  Jo- 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


25 


seph,  A  Notre  Dame  des  Doiileurs,  An  Petit  Agneau  sans 
TacJuy  the  Breton  and  Norman  names  of  the  shopkeep- 
ers, the  Hue-la  of  the  carters  urging  on  their  horses,  all 
help  to  complete  the  illusion. 

Only  a  Norman  or  a  Breton  could  feel  the  pleasure 
and  emotion  that  I  fe!t  at  seeing  these  children  of  old 
France  in  Quebec,  speaking  and  thinking  as  the  French 
spoke  and  thought  in  Louis  XIV.'s  time.  Their  lan- 
guage has  remained  the  old  Norman  dialect  of  the 
langue  d\nl^  such  as  the  peasants  of  lower  Normandy 
speak  it  to-day,  innocent  of  diphthongs.  Si  fas  sef,  eh 
hen  va  here  un  eoup.  You  will  hear  core  for  encore^  des 
f one's  for  quelquefois^  a  eette  heure  for  maintcnant.  Add 
to  this  the  influence  of  the  English  language,  and  you 
have  the  explanation  of  such  expressions  as  the  fol- 
lowing:  etre  particnlier  {ax  fair e  attention,  resigner  for 
donner  sa  demission,  lecturer  for  /aire  des  conferences, 
crosser  for  traverser,  laisser  for  quitter.  The  preterite 
tense  is  frequently  employed  instead  of  the  past  indefi- 
nite. Thus  you  may  read  in  a  newspaper  :  Le  Gouver- 
neur  laissa  Quebec  ce  matin  for  le  Gouverneur  a  quitti 
Qui^bec  ce  matin. 


The  Catholicism  of  the  French  Canadians  is  not  the 
genial  and  cheerful  religion  of  these  days,  but  the  Cath- 
olicism which  in  France,  two  hundred  years  ago,  had  to 
compete  with  Calvinism,  and  was  austere,  sombre,  harsh, 
tyrannical  and  almost  puritanical,  and  which  to-day  in 
Canada  forbids  round  dances  and  frowns  on  many  inno- 
cent pleasures. 

Education  is  directed  by  the  priests,  who,  in  return 
for  this  concession  on  the  part  of  John   Bull,  stimulate* 


26  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

none  but  feelings  of  loyalty  to  the  English  Crown.  This 
is  part  of  the  excellent  plan  adopted  by  the  English  in 
governing  their  Colonies  all  over  the  world.  One  result 
of  the  wise  laxity  of  rule  is  that  the  French  Canadians 
take  little  part  in  politics.  They  are  content  to  belong 
to  England,  because  it  means  liberty,  and  assures  them 
the  enjoyment  of  their  earnings.  The  French  Cana- 
dians are  hard-working  and  thrifty ;  they  marry  very 
young,  and  have  large  families  ;  in  fact,  they  increase 
almost  as  rapidly  as  the  population  of  the  British  Isles, 
and  families  of  twelve,  fifteen,  even  twenty  children 
are  not  uncommon.  Few  of  the  sons  go  away  from 
home,  and  the  province  of  Quebec  bids  fair  to  be  soon 
as  French  as  the  city  itself. 

What  brightness,  what  briskness  there  is  in  the  winter 
climate  of  Canada  !  and  how  astonishingly  little  one 
feels  the  cold  under  that  blue  and  sunny  sky,  though 
the  thermometer  may  mark  forty  degrees  below  zero  ! 
I  was  told  that  many  men  do  not  wear  an  overcoat  dur- 
ing their  first  winter  in  Canada,  except  when  driving. 
The  air  is  so  dry  and  full  of  electricity  that  everything 
metallic  which  you  touch  brings  an  electric  spark  from 
your  finger-nails.  I  several  times  lit  the  gas  by  means 
of  this  spark.  When  you  drive,  it  is  in  open  sleighs. 
There  are  few  covered  ones.  But  you  are  muffled  in 
furs  to  the  very  eyes,  and  glow  with  warmth  as  the 
sleigh  goes  merrily  over  the  frozen  snow  with  tinkling 
bells.  In  Monti eal,  and  other  gay  cities  of  Canada, 
winter  is  full  of  delights, .  Skating,  sleighing,  toboggan- 
ing and  snow-shoeing  parties  are  the  order  of  the  day, 
and,  I  may  add,  night,  for  the  latter  generally  take 
place  by  moonlight.     On  my  arrival  at  Montreal,  about 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


27 


six  hours'  journey  from  Quebec,  I  was  straightway- 
taken  to  see  some  racing  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  Not 
boat-races,  but  horse-races.  The  ice  on  the  river  is 
about  three  feet  thick  in  winter,  and  tram-rails  are  laid 
across  for  a  service  of  cars.  A  novel  and  astonishing 
sight  it  was  to  me  to  see  the  horses  drawing  those 
heavy  loads  over  the  ice,  as  if  it  had  been  a  macadamized 
road.     Then  there  are  the  ice-boats,  which  skim  over 


»i«i  T  iTiTtr  ianut'tr'Timmimtltmm 


MONTREAL   FROM    MOUNT    ROYAL   PARK. 

the  ice  at  such  breathless  speed  that  to  remain  on  their 
decks  at  all  you  have  to  lie  down  and  hold  on. 

Montreal  is  the  town  of  sports  and  gaiety /»/?r  excel- 
Icncc;  it  is  the  home  of  the  ice-palace.  Many  and  merry 
are  \.\iQ  fetes  held  within  those  glittering  walls  built  of 
blocks  of  ice  cemented  with  water.  And  where  else 
can  such  toboggan  rides  be  had  as  the  giant  slope  of 
Mount  Royal  provides  ? 


28  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

During  my  stay  in  Montreal  and  Quebec,  I  often  met 
a  Frenchman,  a  good  Parisian,  a  picture  of  health  and 
happiness,  a  charming  talker,  full  of  life,  happy  to  be 
alive,  and  getting  amusement  out  of  everything  he  came 
across ;  a  little  bit  Gascon,  it  is  true,  but  so  little  ;  a 
Tartarin  of  good  society. 

The  day  I  left  Montreal  I  met  him  in  the  hall  of  the 
Windsor  Hotel,  muffled  up  in  a  white  woolen  hooded 
tunic,  with  a  red  sash  around  the  waist,  and  on  his  head 
a  woolen  cap,  with  its  tassel  jauntily  hanging  on  his 
shoulder.  The  costume  was  completed  by  immense 
thick  stockings  and  knickerbockers,  and  in  his  hand  he 
carried  snow-shoes  and  an  alpenstock — the  regular  snow- 
shoeing  get-up. 

"Aha!"  said  I;  "you  are  off  on  an  expedition  over 
the  snow  ?  " 

"  Not  I,"  he  replied  ;  and  his  good,  open  face  beamed 
with  fun.    "  I  am  going  to  get  photographed.' 

Not  all  the  Tarasconnais  come  from  Tarascon. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Ottawa — Toronto — The  Canadian  Women — Winnipeg  and  St. 
Boniface,  or  England  and  France  Ten  Minutes'  Walk  From 
Each  Other — The  Political  Parties  of  Canada. 

Ottawa,  three  hours  by  rail  from  Montreal,  is  the 
capital  of  the  Dominion.  Like  Washington,  in  the 
United  States,  the  city  is  entirely  consecrated  to  poli- 
tics, and  you  must  not  look  for  anything  else  in  it. 
However,  when  you  arrive  in  Ottawa,  do  not  fail  to 
halt  a  little  on  the  bridge  over  the  river,  for  you  will 
see  a  picture  worthy  of  your  attention  ;  to  right  of  you 
the  falls  and  rapids ;  to  left,  high  against  the  sky,  and 
standing  on  an  almost  perpendicular  rock,  the  Houses 
of  Parliament,  a  group  of  superb  buildings  in  stone.  It 
was  my  good  fortune  to  see  it,  for  the  first  time,  stand- 
ing out  clearly  between  a  brilliant  blue  sky  and  a  sweep 
of  pure  white  snow.  Inside,  the  Houses  of  Parliament 
are  spacious  and  well  appointed  :  the  members  are  in 
clover.  The  library  is  a  very  valuable  one,  and  the  dis- 
position of  the  rooms  has  been  admirably  thought  out 
and  carried  out. 

As  you  advance  toward  the  west,  in  Canada,  the 
towns  begin  to  look  more  American  and  the  people 
more  English ;  the  web  of  telegraph  and  telephone 
wires  overhead  grows  thicker ;  the  complexion  of  the 
women  grows  more  rosy,  and,  instead  of  picturesque 
•  winding  streets,  you  once  more  have  the  parallelograms 
and  rectangular  blocks  of  masonry  that  came  in  with 
tram-rails. 

29 


30  JOHN    IJUfJ.    &    CO. 

Toronto,  built  in  blocks,  with  wide  streets  and  houses 
plastered  with  flaring  advertisements,  is  very  American- 
looking.  But  penetrate  into  the  suburbs,  and  the  scene 
changes :  you  are  reminded  of  the  presence  of  the  Eng- 
lish, for  most  of  the  pretty  villas  are  set  in  gardens,  and 
a  private  garden  is  a  thing  rarely  seen  near  American 
towns.  There  are  no  people  who  are  fonder  of  flowers 
or  more  lavish  in  the  use  of  them  than  the  Americans, 
yet  the  growing  of  them  seems  to  be  entirely  left  to  the 
professional  gardener.  I  heard  various  reasons  given 
in  explanation  of  the  absence  of  lawns  and  flower-beds 
around  suburban  houses.  One  was  the  extreme  cold 
of  the  winters,  another  the  extreme  heat  of  the  sum- 
mers, but  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  chief  reason 
was  want  of  time.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  villa 
gardens  of  Toronto  are  very  gay  with  flowers  in  sum- 
mer. When  I  saw  them  they  were  thickly  buried  in 
snow ;  but  there  were  the  trees  and  shrubs,  and  there, 
utterly  un-American-looking,  was  the  fence  or  the  wall 
which  reminds  one  that  an  Englishman's  house  is  his 
castle.  The  American,  having  no  garden,  dispenses 
with  a  fence,  and  his  house,  though  it  may  be  a  fine 
mansion,  stands  but  a  few  feet  back  from  the  roadway, 
with  its  front  door  accessible,  in  truly  republican  fashion, 
to  every  passer-by. 

Toronto  swarms  with  churches  and  pretty  women.  I 
never,  in  any  town,  saw  quite  so  many  of  either. 

The  Canadian  lady  is  a  happy  combination  of  her  Eng- 
lish and  American  sisters.  She  has  the  physical  beauty, 
the  tall,  graceful  figure,  and  the  fine  complexion  of  the 
former,  allied  to  the  decided  bearing,  the  naturalness, 
the  frank  glance,  and  the  piquancy  of  the  latter.     If, 


1 


JOHN     IJULL    &    CO.  31 

added  to  these,  one  could  have  the  shrewd  common 
sense,  and  the  irresistible  charm  of  the  Parisiennt\  the 
result  would  be  a  really  ideal  woman.  The  amount  of 
outdoor  exercise  taken  by  Canadian  women  in  their 
winter  games  and  pastimes  goes  far  to  explain  the 
beauty  of  their  complexions.  The  air  of  Canada  is  dry, 
the  houses  are  heated  in  the  same  way  as  American 
houses,  yet  these  two  things,  often  advanced  as  the 
cause  of  the  American  belles'  pallor,  do  not  prevent  the 
Canadian  women  from  having  brilliant  complexions. 

It  was  in  Toronto  that  I  was  given  an  insight  into 
the  system  of  education  adopted  by  the  English  Can- 
adians. It  is  practically  the  American  system  ;  boys 
and  girls,  rich  and  poor,  sit  side  by  side  on  their  school 
benches  and  receive  the  same  instruction.  Among  the 
French  Canadians,  education,  as  I  have  already  said,  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  priest,  and  the  standard  of  instruc- 
tion is  low. 

Besides  the  cities  that  I  have  mentioned,  Canada  pos- 
sesses many  important  towns,  such  as  London,  Hamil- 
ton, etc.  One  of  the  most  interesting  to  visit  is  Winni- 
peg, in  the  northwest.  To  reach  it  you  have  to  cross, 
in  summer,  a  veritable  ocean  of  plants  and  flowers ;  in 
winter,  an  ocean  of  ice  and  snow.  It  is  the  prairie  in 
its  immensity,  lonesome  but  grandiose.  A  population 
of  thirty  thousand  people,  energetic  and  intelligent,  is 
chiefly  engaged  in  the  commerce  of  wood  and  cereals. 
The  town  is  flourishing,  has  many  fine  buildings  and  a 
hotel,  the  Manitoba,  which  for  comfort  and  luxury  has 
no  equal  within  a  circuit  of  five  hundred  miles.  Ten 
minutes  from  the  town,  across  the  river,  stands  the  little 
village  of  St.  Boniface,  founded  by  the  French  long  be- 


32  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

fore  Winnipeg  was  thought  of,  and  which  has  remained 
just  what  it  was.  In  Canada,  you  are  constantly  com- 
ing across  old  France  standing  still,  while  bustling  Eng- 
land advances,  spreads,  and  multiplies.  If  you  set  out 
from  Quebec,  and  follow  the  course  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
as  far  as  the  Mississippi  at  New  Orleans,  you  can  do 
two  thousand  miles  without  going  off  the  line  followed 
by  the  early  French  settlers.  The  names  along  the 
route  will  sufficiently  indicate  the  origin  of  th'e  towns : 
Quebec,  Montreal,  St.  Paul,  Detroit,  Des  Moines,  St. 
Louis,  New  Orleans. 

It  seems  to  me  that  Canada,  on  account  of  its  inter- 
ests and  its  geographical  position,  is  destined  one  day 
to  become  part  of  the  great  American  family.  But  if 
ever  the  amalgamation  should  take  place,  it  will  be  with- 
out the  firing  of  a  shot  or  the  spilling  of  a  drop  of  blood. 

At  present,  the  number  of  Canadians  in  favor  of  unit- 
ing their  country  to  the  States  is  only  about  one-fourth 
of  the  population.  Although  there  are  but  two  politi- 
cal parties,  the  Liberals  and  the  Conservatives,  wherever 
the  annexation  question  is  discussed  there  appear  to  be 
four  camps  :  people  in  favor  of  annexation  ;  a  party, 
largely  composed  of  the  best  society,  preferring  the 
present  state  of  things  ;  another,  which  advocates  feder- 
ation ;  and  a  fourth,  which  would  like  to  see  Canada  an 
independent  nation.  To  the  last-named  party  belong 
most  of  the  French  Canadians.  They  naturally  detest 
the  idea  of  federation,  because  it  would  mean  to  them 
political  annihilation,  and  as  these  people  form  a  large 
and  rapidly  increasing  portion  of  the  population,  I 
imagine  that  the  scheme  of  federation  is  little  likely 
ever  to  be  adopted  by  Canada. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Flying  through  the  Far  West— The  Prairies— Colorado — Den- 
ver—The Rockies — Salt  Lake  City — The  Mormons — The 
Desert— The  Sierras- The  Plains  of  California— San  Fran- 
cisco— China  Town — Impressions  Confirmed — A  Branch  of 
the  Firm  John  Bull  &  Co.  Started  in  Business  for  Itself. 

The  journey  from  Winnipeg  to  St.  Paul  in  winter  is 
done  on  an  unbroken  plain  of  ice  and  snow.  To  go  in- 
to raptures  over  a  landscape  such  as  this,  one  must  be 
born  in  the  States.  An  American  would  say,  '*  Yes,  sir, 
everything  in  this  country  is  on  an  immense  scale." 
St.  Paul  and  its  neighbor,  Minneapolis,  are  towns  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  inhabitants  each,  situ- 
ated at  a  distance  of  only  ten  miles  from  each  other. 
Jealousy  alone  gives  a  separate  existence  to  these  two 
towns,  which  ought  to  form  but  one.  If  St.  Paul  elected 
to  become  part  of  Minneapolis,  Minneapolis  would  have 
no  objection  ;  if  Minneapolis  decided  to  merge  its  indi- 
viduality in  that  of  St.  Paul,  St.  Paul  would  think  it 
quite  natural.  As  to  any  union  by  common  consent,  as 
well  ask  Manchester  and  Liverpool  to  abide  by  the  de- 
cisions of  one  and  the  same  town  council. 

Twenty-four  hours  of  railway  traveling  across  a  flat 
country  takes  you  from  St.  Paul  to  Omaha,  a  town  of 
more  than  a  hundred  thousand  inhabitants.  Fifteen 
hours  more  and  you  are  at  Kansas  City.  Still  the  mo- 
notonous flatness.  However,  the  country,  which  is 
entirely  consecrated  to  agriculture  and  the  raising  of 

33 


34  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

cattle,  is  prosperous  and  not  without  a  certain  interest. 
One  day  more  and  you  are  in  Colorado,  and  nearing 
Denver.  After  the  dreary  monotony  of  the  prairies, 
the  first  glimpse  of  the  grand  peaks  of  the  Rockies, 
standing  up  soft  and  blue  against  the  western  sky, 
where  a  gorgeous  sun  was  setting,  was  a  thing  to  be 
remembered.  Denver,  twenty  years  ago  a  mining  camp, 
to-day  a  flourishing,  well-built  town  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  inhabitants.  Such  is  America.  Omaha, 
Kansas  City,  Denver,  are  so  many  budding  Chicagos. 

But  time  is  flying.     *'  All  aboard  !  " 

A  few  hours  after  leaving  Denver  you  enter  the 
Rocky  Mountains  by  a  narrow  passage  which  winds  be- 
tween colossal  rocks  rising  straight  into  the  air.  The 
chain  of  mountains  unfolds  itself  hour  by  hour  to  your 
astonished  eyes  as  the  train  rushes  on  with  infinite 
twistings  among  the  giant  hills.  The  panorama  is  en- 
chanting. Then  the  train  begins  to  climb,  twisting  and 
recoiling  on  itself  like  a  caterpillar,  till  its  extremities 
almost  touch  and  form  a  circle.  You  reach  a  height  of 
ten  thousand  feet  above  sea  level,  and  the  train  steams 
into  Leadville,  "  the  cloud  city."  (Every  American 
town  is  a  city  in  American  parlance.)  Leadville  was  at 
one  time  a  busy  place  with  a  large  population,  but  the 
lead  mines  failed  to  yield  as  they  had  been  expected  to 
do,  and  the  town  is  now  a  forlorn-looking  one,  lost  in 
the  clouds,  and  with  "  Ichabod  "  writ  large  all  over  it. 
Then  you  descend  toward  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Salt 
Lake  in  Utah.  The  Mormons  have  been  described  ad 
nauseaui^  and  there  is  nothing  new  to  be  looked  for  in 
their  midst ;  they  are  ancient  history.  By  a  new  law  of 
the  United  States,  polygamy  is  no  longer  tolerated,  and 


t 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


35 


if  Artemus  Ward  were  now  alive,  and  about  to  give 
one  of  his  delightfully  humorous  talks  there,  he  could 
no  longer  put  on  the  complimentary  ticket  given  to 
some  Mormon  to  whom  he  wished  to  show  a  politeness, 
"  Admit  bearer 
and  one  wife." 
In  Salt  Lake 
City  you  are 
struck  by  the 
cleanliness,  the 
quietness,  and 
the  general  air 
of  prosperity  of 
the  place.  The 
M  o  r  m  o  n  s  are 
meek- voiced 
and  mild-man- 
nered, as  one 
would  expect  in 
the  descendants 
of  an  oppressed 
sect.  Attend- 
ants are  polite 
and  altogether 
a  great  contrast 
to  the  same  class 
of  persons  on 
the  other  side  of 
the  Rockies.  The  Mormons  continue  to  believe  and 
call  themselves  Saints.  This  is  a  harmless  mania  that 
hurts  nobody. 

Before  getting  into  California  there  remains  but  the 


'ITT. 

TEMPLE   SQUARE,  SALT   LAKE   CI  lY. 


36  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

State  of  Nevada  to  cross,  a  sandy,  arid  land,  which  forms 
a  curious  contrast  with  the  fertile  Salt  Lake  valley  and 
the  luxuriant  plains  of  California  between  which  it  lies. 
Some  Indians,  majestically  draped  in  blankets  and  with 
feathers  in  their  hair,  a  few  cowboys  with  sombreros 
stuck  on  the  back  of  the  head  give  a  touch  of  the  pic- 
turesque to  this  scene  of  desolation,  a  scene  almost 
grandiose  in  its  dreariness.  After  the  sandy  desert  is 
traversed,  the  ground  begins  to  rise  once  more,  nature 
shows  signs  of  life  again,  and  presently  you  are  in  the 
Sierras,  which  to  my  thinking  are  still  more  picturesque 
and  much  grander  than  the  Rockies.  The  Rocky 
Mountains  are  certainly  mountainous  and  undeniably 
rocky,  but  the  landscape  has  not  the  majesty  of  the 
Sierras.  The  Rocky  Mountains  are  wild  and  arid  ;  the 
Sierras  are  luxuriant  with  verdure.  You  are  nearing 
the  home  of  perpetual  spring.  All  is  gay  and  smiling : 
the  blue  sky,  the  slopes  of  the  mountains  clothed  with 
gigantic  trees,  the  valleys  carpeted  with  ferns  and  semi- 
tropical  plants.  I  have  seen  no  other  country  so  en- 
chanting. 

After  being  so  long  used  to  looking  on  nothing  but 
an  expanse  of  snow  or  a  brown  desert,  the  eyes  are 
fairly  dazzled  by  all  this  verdure.  From  the  Sierras 
you  descend  into  the  plains  of  California,  the  train 
rushing  through  this  vast  garden  of  magnolias,  orange 
and  lemon  trees,  cacti  and  rich  plants  of  all  kinds, 
and  all  the  way  to  San  Francisco  the  feast  for  the 
eyes  is  one  of  unparalleled  loveliness.  You  are  in  El 
Dorado. 

I  confess  that  San  Francisco  itself  disappointed  me. 
I  scarcely  know  why,  but  I  had  an  idea  that  this  town 


JOHN    BULT.    &   CO. 


37 


must  be  quite  different  from  the  other  large  towns  of 
America.  Its  name  had  suggested  to  my  mind  a  place 
half  Spanish,  half  Mexican,  with  an  individuality  of  its 
own.  In  reality  it  is  but  another  New  York,  Chicago, 
or  Cincinnati.  Market  street,  the  chief  street,  differs 
little  from  Broadway,  New  York,  Washington  street, 
Boston,  or  State  street,  Chicago.  Everywhere  the  same 
square  blocks,  the  eternal  parallelograms,  the  same 
gaudy  advertisements,  the  same  flaring  posters.  In 
the  quarter  where  the  rich  people  have  taken  up  their 
abode  the  houses  are  handsome,  but  have  not  the  gar- 
dens one  would  expect  to  see  around  them.  The  park 
is  beautiful,  and  very  remarkable  as  being  the  result  of 
a  clever  victory  over  the  mass  of  fine  sand  that  lay  be- 
tween San  Francisco  and  the  sea.  This  sand,  which 
half  blinded  the  city  every  time  the  wind  blew  in  from 
the  ocean,  is  now  bound  into  a  fair  lawn  by  buffalo 
grass,  and  is  planted  over  with  California's  lovely  trees 
and  flowers.  Near  by,  that  is  to  say  at  three-quarters 
of  an  hour's  drive  from  the  town,  are  the  Seal  Rocks, 
covered  with  the  creatures  that  give  them  their  name, 
and  a  visit  to  them  also  means  a  sight  of  the  grand  ex- 
panse of  the  Pacific  ocean  washing  in  on  an  apparently 
endless  beach  of  smooth  yellow  sand. 

But  to  see  a  really  fine  typical  Californian  town  you 
must  go  south,  to  Los  Angeles  for  instance,  which  town 
is  a  veritable  poem. 

I  had  heard  a  great  deal  about  China  Town  and  had 
been  advised  not  to  leave  San  Francisco  without  visit- 
ing  this  Chinese  quarter.  I  expected  to  find  a  bit  of 
the  Orient  in  this  great  western  city,  but  what  I  did  see 
was  a  slum,  a  rubbish  heap,  fit  to  turn   one  sick,  a  dis- 


38  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

grace  to  a  town  which,  after  all,  must  be  directed 
and  governed  by  respectable  people.  Thirty  or  forty 
thousand  Chinese  swarm  in  an  atmosphere  heavy  with 
rancid  grease,  tobacco,  musk,  sandal-wood,  and  in  the 
midst  of  gambling  hells,  opium  dens,  houses  of  ill  fame, 
the  blinds  of  which  are  not  even  lowered,  a  vile  crowd 
living  by  the  most  shameless  vice  in  most  ignoble  dirt, 
and  this  not  in  some  outlying  suburb  where  it  might  be 
convenient  to  fling  the  rubbish  of  the  community,  but 
in  the  very  centre  of  the  city. 

Heaven  be  praised,  I  soon  forgot  the  amazing  hor- 
rors of  the  place,  but  the  odor  of  it  long  hung  about 
my  clothing. 

For  the  third  time  I  had  visited  the  United  States, 
anjd  had  now  seen  them  from  north  to  south,  from  east 
to  west.  Now  I  was  going  to  see  still  newer  worlds, 
Australia,  New  Zealand,  and  South  Africa,  the  Amer- 
icas of  the  future. 

The  impressions  formed  during  the  two  previous  voy- 
ages seemed  to  have  taken  deeper  root,  and  I  felt  the 
greater  number  of  them  to  be  confirmed.  A  country 
especially  interesting  from  the  feverish  activity  which, 
in  a  century,  has  developed  it,  and  made  of  it  a  shining 
light  to  the  rest  of  the  world  in  the  matter  of  practical 
ideas ;  a  people  straining  every  nerve  in  the  race  for 
dollars,  suffering  from  bile  and  billions,  and  who  have 
learned  most  things  except  the  art  of  good  self-govern- 
ment ;  unique  women,  the  most  intellectual  and  interest- 
ing in  the  world,  whom  I  can  admire  all  the  more 
because  I  have  not  the  honor  to  be  the  husband  of  one 
of  them,  and  therefore  have  not  to  pay  her  dressmakers' 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


39 


bills,  nor  work  by  the  sweat  of  my  brow  to  cover  her 
with  diamonds. 

I  had  intended  in  this  volume  only  to  speak  of  the 
English  Colonies.  However,  I  do  not  think  that  these 
few  remarks  on  the  United  States  are  out  of  place  here. 
Was  not  America  once  one  of  the  great  branch  estab- 
lishments of  the  firm,  John  Bull  &  Co.,  although  she 
may  have  since  set  up  in  business  for  herself?  And  is 
not  this  the  future  that  is  before  several  other  of  those 
branches  ? 


CHAPTER    V. 

The  Pacific  Ocean — The  Sandwich  Islands — Honolulu — The 
Southern  Cross — What  a  Swindle  I — The  Samoan  Islands — 
Apia — Mr.  Robert  Louis  Stevenson — Auckland — Arrival  of 
the  Philistines. 

The  voyage  from  San  Francisco  to  Auckland  in  New 
Zealand  takes  just  three  weeks,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  the  first  two  days,  which  are  rendered  often  disagree- 
able by  a  shallow  sea  easily  stirred  up,  the  passage  is 
generally  delightful.  During  nineteen  days  we  found 
the  Pacific  Ocean  as  calm  as  a  lake. 

The  Monoivai  is  a  most  comfortable  steamer  of  about 
3,500  tons,  commanded  by  one  of  the  most  charming 
captains  it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  meet  with  in 
my  travels.  Watching  tenderly  over  his  *'  boarders," 
always  on  the  outlook  for  anything  which  may  add  to 
their  comfort  or  contribute  t«^  the  pleasure  of  the  trip, 
Captain  Carey  ought  to  be  surnamed  the  father  of  his 
passengers. 

The  voyage  is  far  from  being  uninteresting,  for,  apart 
from  the  pleasure  of  gliding  over  a  smooth  sea,  the  long 
and  regular  swell  of  which  gently  rocks  one,  of  watch- 
ing sunsets  of  surpassing  beauty,  or  of  passing  evenings 
under  a  firmament  literally  ablaze  with  stars,  one  lands 
at  two  veritable  earthly  paradises — Honolulu,  the  cap- 
ital of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  Apia,  the  chief  town 
of  the  island  of  Samoa. 

Honolulu   is  eight  days   from   San   Francisco.     The 

40 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


41 


boat  stopped  seven  hours,  which  gave  us  time  to  see  the 
town  of  Honolulu,  and  to  drive  to  the  Pali,  a  small 
mountain,  from  the  summit  of  which  an  enchanting  view 
of  the  whole  island  is  to  be  had. 

Honolulu  is  a  rather  Californian  town,  that  reminds 
one  of  Los  Angeles.  A  high  state  of  civilization  has 
been  reached  :  you  would  look  in  vain  among  the  Sand- 
wichers  for  a  woman  wearing  a  smile  and  nothing  more. 
The  type  is  a  pleasing  one :  soft,  almond-shaped  eyes 
set  in  an  amiable,  smiling  face  meet  you  at  every  turn, 
and  there  they  live,  these  suave-looking  people,  far  away 
in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  in  the  midst  of  sunshine  and  per- 
fume, in  an  ideal  climate,  with  a  temperature  varying 
from  sixty-five  to  eighty-two  degrees  from  the  first  of  Jan- 
uary to  the  thirty-first  of  December.  Their  land  is  ra- 
diant with  a  thousand  flowering  shrubs,  and  stately  with 
palms,  cocoanut  palms,  date  palms,  and  the  well-named 
royal  palm  that  raises  its  tall,  straight  trunk  like  a  silver 
mast  high  into  the  air,  bearing  a  drooping  crown  of 
graceful  leaves  at  the  top. 

Graceful,  too,  are  the  young  women  of  the  people, 
with  their  loose,  white  dress,  hanging  straight  from  the 
neck,  unconfined  by  belt  or  band,  a  garment  following 
to  a  great  extent  the  lines  of  the  Watteau  gown.  And 
their  charming  gait !  with  what  nonchalant  ease  they 
carry  themselves  !  the  supple  body  balanced  with  dignity 
befitting  a  state  proccbsion. 

With  time  at  one's  disposal,  what  an  agreeable  fort- 
night one  could  spend  at  Honolulu,  in  the  most  delicious 
far  niente,  admiring  the  people,  listening  to  the  birds, 
breathing  the  perfume  of  the  flowers,  swinging  in  a  ham- 
mock suspended  from  two  picturesque  palms ! 


42  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

But  there  is  the  steamer's  whistle  sounding,  and  we 
must  go  on  board.  It  is  with  the  deepest  regret  that 
we  leave  this  little  earthly  paradise,  lit  up  as  it  is  at  our 
departure  by  a  sunset  sky  ablaze  with  gold,  emeralds, 
rubies  and  topazes.  In  ten  minutes  the  scene  has  com- 
pletely changed.  The  glory  has  faded,  and  all  is  rapidly 
being  steeped  in  profound  darkness,  for,  in  the  region  of 
the  tropics,  there  is  scarcely  any  twilight.  And  now  we 
have  once  more  left  the  land  behind,  and  again  become 
a  tiny  black  spot  cast  on  the  immensity  of  the  ocean. 

Nine  days'  good  steaming,  and  we  ought  to  reach  the 
Samoan  Islands  ;  but  in  the  interval  we  pass  the  equa- 
tor (an  important  event),  and  we  are  to  make  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Southern  Cross,  the  famous  constellation 
we  have  heard  so  much  about,  and  of  w^hich  the  Aus- 
tralians are  so  proud  that  they  have  transferred  it  to 
their  national  coat  of  arms — a  magnificent  cross,  they 
say,  that  illuminates  the  southern  hemisphere.  At  last, 
then,  we  were  going  to  see  it  for  ourselves — this  South- 
ern Cross.  We  counted  the  days,  and  every  evening, 
on  turning  in,  we  said  to  each  other,  "  Three  days  more  ; 
two  days  more,"  and,  at  last,  "  It  is  to-morrow  that  we 
are  to  behold  this  marvel."  I  really  believe  that  we 
lay  awake  that  night  thinking  of  it.  Truth  to  tell,  an 
Englishman  on  board,  who  had  been  round  the  world 
several  times,  had  said  to  me,  "  The  Southern  Cross  ? 
Yes,  it  is  not  bad."  But  there  are  Englishmen  whom 
nothing  can  move  to  enthusiasm,  and  who  will  exclaim, 
in  front  of  Vesuvius  in  eruption,  **  Yes,  it  isn't  bad," 
as  if  they  were  looking  at  the  belching  chimneys  of 
Birmingham.  I  had  been  led  to  expect  a  grand  sight, 
and  a  grand  sight  I  expected. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  43 

On  the  nth  of  April,  1892  (such  dates  are  epochs  in 
one's  hfe),  the  captain  said  to  us  at  breakfast,  "  This 
evening  at  six  o'clock  the  Southern  Cross  will  be  visi- 
ble."    The  day  promised  to  be  a  superb  one. 

Ah,  with  what  impatience  we  awaited  the  evening ! 
At  last  the  sun  descended  to  the  horizon,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  there  was  a  perfectly  clear  firmament  overhead. 
First,  I  went  aft,  to  once  more  look  on  the  Great  Bear, 
and  then  rejoined  the  other  passengers,  who  had  taken 
up  a  post  of  observation  on  the  bridge.  I  could  see 
nothing  remarkable.  I  strained  my  eyes  almost  out  of 
their  sockets.     Still  nothing. 

Up  came  the  captain. 

"  And  this  Southern  Cross,"  I  exclaimed,"  where  is  it  ?  " 

"  Why,  there  it  is,"  replied   the  captain,  stretching 
out  his  hand  toward  the  horizon. 
.  "  But  where  ?  " 

"  Why,  bless  me,  don't  you  see  it  ?  Look  there — 
where  I  am  pointing.  There  is  one  star,  that  is  the  foot 
of  the  cross ;  there  is  another,  that  forms  the  head  ; 
then  there  are  a  third  and  fourth,  forming  the  arms." 
And  then,  pointing  them  out  successively,  he  repeated, 
"  One,  two,  three,  four." 

Now,  really,  a  fakir  who  had  just  heard  that  he  would 
never  see  Vishnu,  could  scarcely  pull  such  a  long 
face  as  we  did  when  we  found  out  how  hugely  we  had 
been  taken  in. 

Picture  to  yourself  a  cross  (for  a  cross  we  must  admit 
it  to  be)  of  the  meagerest  dimensions,  formed  by  four 
stars,  which  are  not  of  equal  magnitude,  and  of  which 
the  fourth,  the  one  that  forms  the  right  arm,  is  not  even 
placed  symmetrically! 


44  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

The  Southern  Cross  must  have  been  discovered  and 
named  by  some  patriotic  zealot,  who  beUeved  that  he 
saw  in  this  cross  a  sign  that  John  Bull,  the  Christian /^r 
excellence^  was  destined  to  acquire  and  convert  the  Aus- 
tral hemisphere. 

Of  all  the  geese  that  pass  for  swans  in  the  Colonies, 
the  Southern  Cross  is  the  biggest. 

I  went  to  bed  that  night  feeling  very  *'  sold,"  and, 
throughout  the  eighteen  months  that  I  spent  in  the  Col- 
onies, I  never  could  see  the  Southern  Cross  without 
shaking  my  fist  at  it.     Was  ever  anyone  so  taken  in  ? 

A  few  days  later  Samoa  was  to  make  up  to  us  for  the 
disappointment  we  had  just  suffered.  We  were  to  see 
real  savages,  and  a  bay  which  is  often  compared  to  the 
Bay  of  Naples. 

On  April  17th,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  we  en- 
tered the  Bay  of  Apia. 

We  dressed  with  all  speed,  and  went  on  deck.  The 
Samoans  had  anticipated  us.  The  steamer  was  besieged 
by  the  natives,  who  had  come  out  from  the  shore  in  their 
boats.  Everywhere  around,  their  merchandise  was 
spread  out — oranges,  bananas,  fans,  sticks,  mats,  clubs, 
and  all  kinds  of  curiosities  of  the  country. 

The  Samoans  do  not  at  all  resemble  their  neighbors. 
It  is  not  the  Papuan  type  met  with  in  the  Fiji  Islands, 
or  in  New  Guinea;  it  is  the  type  that  we  saw  in  Hono- 
lulu (which  we  shall  meet  with  again  in  the  Maoris  of 
New  Zealand),  only  rather  darker.  The  costume  is 
lighter  and  more  primitive,  for  it  consists  of  a  kind  of 
long  folded  towel  tied  about  the  loins.  The  Hawaiians, 
the  Samoans  and  the  Maoris  belong  to  the  Indo-Eu- 
ropean race.     Many  of  the  Samoans  bear  more  resem- 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  4$ 

I 

^i  blance  to  sunburnt  Italians  than  to  the  natives  of  Aus- 

j  tralia,  or  even  the  different  types  of  negroes  that  one 

':  finds  in  Africa.     The  face  is  intelligent,  the  eyes  are 

\  clear  and  soft,  the  forehead  high,  the  nose  rather  large, 

;  and  the  body  superb.     The  skin  is  of  a  pinkish  copper 

shade,  very  picturesque  in  the  brilliant  sunshine.  The 
walk  of  these  people  is  full  of  grace  and  majesty ;  here 
are  hawkers  of  oranges  and  bananas,  looking  like  un- 
dressed princes;  imposing  and  picturesque  figures,  with 
their  curly  hair  roughed  up  all  over  the  head,  the  strong- 
knit  body  thrown  back,  and  the  line  of  the  spine  hol- 
lowed out.  They  roam  about  the  deck  with  the  air  of 
exiled  kings  smoking  their  cigar  on  the  Boulevard  des 
Italiens !  Nature  would  appear  to  have  made  them  a.l 
gentlemen.  The  hair  of  the  Samoans,  which  is  dark  in 
childhood,  is  daubed  with  some  preparation  of  lime, 
with  the  result  that  when  a  boy  is  about  eighteen  his 
head  is  often  a  comic  sight,  the  bulk  of  the  hair  being 
of  a  Titian  red  and  the  ends  of  a  fine  canary  color.  It 
is  as  if  a  red-wool  mop  had  been  trying  to  get  itself  up 
to  resemble  a  gold-colored  wig. 

A  boat  landed  us  on  the  island  in  a  few  minutes, 
when  we  were  once  in  it ;  but  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder 
was  a  clamoring  crowd  of  would-be  ferrymen,  difficult 
to  deal  with,  and  it  was  a  shock  to  find  that  those  sweet- 
looking  creatures  could  use  words — English,  or,  rather, 
Anglo-Saxon  ones — that  made  one's  hair  stand  on  end. 
We  were  careful  not  to  pay  the  boatman  on  debarking, 
but  only  to  promise  him  his  money  when  we  returned. 
This  is  a  useful  precaution  to  take,  otherwise  he  exacts 
a  fabulous  sum  for  taking  you  on  board.  The  canny 
individual  knows  that  you  must  get  back  to  the  boat  at 


■mm 


46  JOHN    BULL    &    CU. 

any  price,  and  if  you  are  not  oi  your  guard  he  takes 
advantage  of  you.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  these  people 
are  being  rapidly  civilized. 

We  breakfasted  at  a  little  hotel  looking  on  the  bay, 
and  there  we  had  the  pleasure  of  making  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Mr.  Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  the  famous  nov- 
elist, some  of  whose  works  will  rank  among  the  English 
classics.  Mr.  Stevenson  has  very  delicate  health  ;  the 
fine  climate  of  Samoa  tempted  him  to  settle  there,  and 
for  several  years  he  has  been  living  in  the  hills  above 
Apia,  with  his  family.  We  found  him  full  of  activity, 
happy,  singing  the  praises  of  Samoa  and  the  Samoans, 
and  in  a  state  of  health  which  allows  him  to  continue 
the  production  of  those  chcfs-d'ceuvrc  that  are  eagerly 
devoured  in  England.  The  Master  of  Ballantrae  is  a 
book  which  will  live  as  long  as  the  Timi  Jones  of 
Fielding. 

After  breakfast,  which  consisted  not  of  a  slice  of  cold 
missionary  a  la  moiitarde^  but  of  fresh  eggs  and  good 
beefsteak,  we  went  on  the  veranda  to  smoke  and  talk, 
with  the  magnificent  coiip-d'oeil  of  the  blue  bay  spread 
out  in  front  of  us,  and  then  we  left  to  stroll  about  the 
town. 

It  was  Easter  Sunday,  and  we  wended  our  way  to  the 
cathedral.  All  along  the  road  we  met  the  natives,  who 
smiled  at  us  and  made  signs  of  friendliness.  "  Wel- 
come," said  some  as  they  passed  ;  "  My  love  to  you," 
said  others.  What  gentle,  pretty  savages !  And  how 
nice  the  women  looked  in  their  loose  sacques,  like  those 
we  saw  in  Honolulu,  their  hair  tidily  bound  up,  and 
their  rounded  figures  carried  erect !  Two  or  three  had 
adopted  European  dress,  but  the  effect  was  very  ludi- 


JOHN    BULL    &   CO. 


47 


crous.  Mrs.  Stevenson  had  told  us  that  it  was  the 
ambition  of  the  native  women,  as  soon  as  they  could 
afford  it,  to  dress  in  European  fashion,  but  I  imagine 
that  since  they  have  seen  that  lady  in  the  richly  embroi- 
dered silk  gown,  made  in  the  native  fashion,  which  she 
was  wearing  when  she  spoke  to  us,  they  feel  much  less 
inclined  to  spend  their  substance  on  corsets.     The  chil- 


NATIVE   HOUSE,  SAMOA. 

dren,  the  little  boys  especially,  made  us  exclaim  in  ad- 
miration.    The  ladies  wanted  to  kiss  them  all. 

We  arrived  at  the  cathedral,  a  very  primitive  stone 
structure,  just  in  time  to  see  the  procession  enter,  and 
it  was  a  curious  sight,  that  little  bit  of  Rome  lost  in  the 
Pacific  !  The  bishop  officiated  ;  there  w^ere  the  acolytes 
in  scarlet  and  lace-trimmed  linen,  the  candles,  the  in- 
cense—nothing was  wanting,  and  the  scene  was  most 


48  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

impressive.  The  edifice  was  crowded  with  natives  in 
their  most  gorgeous-colored  raiment,  and  all  with  faces 
full  of  awe  and  respect.  Some  knelt,  the  greater  num- 
ber crouched,  but  all  the  faces  had  a  religious  gravity 
imprinted  on  them. 

We  went  on  our  way.  A  few  yards  further  and  we 
came  upon  an  English  missionary  singing  hymns  under 
a  shed.  Half  a  dozen  Samoans  were  joining  in,  with 
their  cracked,  nasal-sounding  voices.  I  do  not  doubt  that 
the  good  missionary  does  his  best,  and  that  the  Society 
for  the  Promulgation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  be- 
lieves that  he  is  making  converts  by  the  thousand.  The 
contrast  appeared  to  me  as  ridiculous  as  one  which  so 
vexes,  yet  amuses,  any  artistic  visitor  to  Rouen,  where, 
almost  under  the  shadow  of  the  cathedral,  a  masterpiece 
of  stone  carving,  stands  a  little  square  shanty  in  brick, 
with  the  inscription,  Weslcyan  Church.  How  many 
Englishmen  with  a  little  artistic  feeling,  have  told  me 
the  pleasure  it  would  give  them  to  kick  it  over  and 
hide  it  under  the  earth ! 

At  noon  the  heat  was  intense,  and  we  were  glad  to 
get  back  to  the  Monoivai  for  refreshment  and  the 
shade  of  the  awning.  At  lunch  time,  the  Samoans  were 
ordered  to  pack  up  their  goods  and  quit  the  ship. 

When  the  crowd  was  dispersing,  we  threw  them 
money  from  the  deck  for  the  fun  of  seeing  them  dive 
to  the  bottom  of  the  bay  and  pick  up  the  coins,  not  one 
of  which  they  missed.  The  Samoans  can  swim  before 
they  can  walk,  I  believe,  and  the  water  of  the  bay  is  as 
clear  and  limpid  as  the  purest  spring  water. 

Then  we  watched  the  swarm  of  boats  steer  for  the 
shore  and  a  number  of  the  young  Samoans  swim  back 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  49 

to  Apia.  We  said  good-bye  to  this  sweet  land  with  its 
purple  hills,  the  luxuriant  tropical  verdure  which  we 
were  to  see  no  more  of  for  a  long  time,  to  the  graceful, 
majestic  palms,  and,  above  all,  to  those  amiable,  happy 
people  who  live  on  bananas  and  oranges  and  cocoanuts, 
and  whose  eternal  smile  seems  to  thank  the  Creator  for 
having  sent  them  into  a  beautiful  world. 

Nine  days  more  at  sea.  In  five  we  shall  have  arrived 
at  Auckland,  in  the  north  of  New  Zealand  ;  four  days 
later  we  shall  be  in  Sydney. 

On  the  Friday  in  Easter  week  we  were  in  Auckland, 
a  town  of  sixty  thousand  inhabitants,  very  thriving 
looking,  and  with  an  exquisitely  clean  appearance. 
Situated  in  the  curve  of  a  gulf,  and  built  on  sev^eral 
hills,  this  town,  whose  importance  grows  by  enchant- 
ment, is  destined  to  become,  one  day,  one  of  the  largest 
commercial  centres  of  the  world.  The  editor  of  the 
New  Zealand  Herald^  a  most  important  New  Zealand 
newspaper,  had  been  kind  enough  to  come  to  meet  us 
at  the  quay.  We  went  with  him  in  a  carriage  to  the 
top  of  Mount  Eden,  an  extinct  volcano,  and  once  there 
we  were  able  to  feast  our  eyes  upon  a  glorious  panor- 
ama of  green  pastures,  beautifully  kept  gardens,  coquet- 
tish villas,  a  superb  harbor,  and  the  ocean  to  right  and 
left.  Only  two  or  three  miles  separate  East  from  West 
Auckland,  and  to  reach  the  town  from  the  south,  by 
sea,  you  may  follow  the  coast  on  the  one  side  or  the 
other  ;  but  to  go  from  East  Auckland  to  West  Auck- 
land by  sea  would  take  several  days,  whether  you  went 
round  the  northern  or  the  southern  part  of  the  island. 

But  we  shall  come  back  to  New  Zealand  and  shall 
revisit  Auckland. 


50  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  rejoined  the  Mono- 
wai,  which  was  soon  to  land  us  at  our  destination. 
But  alas  !  our  delightful  days  were  finished.  From  San 
Francisco  to  Auckland  we  had  been  thirty-two  passen- 
gers in  first  class.  We  had  all  made  acquaintance  with 
one  another,  and  we  formed  a  happy  and  united  band. 
On  returning  on  board  we  found  the  boat  invaded  by 
about  sixty  intruders,  who  had  come  to  join  us  and  get 
carried  to  Sydney.  Up  to  this  we  had,  most  of  us,  had 
separate  cabins  ;  now,  each  was  obliged  to  share  it  with 
a  stranger.  We  cast  appealing  looks  at  the  captain  ; 
we  would  fain  have  asked  his  permission  to  throw  all 
those  people  overboard,  and  we  one  and  all  made  a 
resolution  not  to  address  a  word  to  the  new-comers, 
but  to  *'  boycott  "  and  keep  them  at  a  distance — as  re- 
spectful as  the  width  of  the  cabins  would  allow. 

And  now,  no  more  Pacific  Ocean  :  the  sea  between 
Australia  and  New  Zealand  is  generally  very  disagree- 
able. A  bad  sea  and  a  crowded  boat,  there  remained 
nothing  now  but  the  hope  of  shortly  reaching  Sydney 
to  keep  us  in  good  humor. 

On  the  Tuesday  following,  at  four  in  the  afternoon, 
we  caught  sight  of  the  Australian  coast.  At  five  we 
were  steaming  in  at  the  narrow  and  imposing  passage 
between  great  steep  cliffs,  which  forms  the  entrance  to 
Sydney  harbor. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Sydney— I  Have  Seen  the  Harbor— The  Australia  Hotel — The 
French  in  Sydney — The  Town — The  Parks— Cupid  in  the 
Open  Air — Little  Clandestine  Visits  to  the  South  Head — 
* '  Engaged  "  —  Melbourne  —  Activity  —  All  Scottish — The 
Holy  Tartufes — Adelaide — Brisbane— Ballarat — Bendigo— 
Geelong. 

The  two  finest  harbors  in  the  world  are  those  of  Rio 
de  Janeiro  and  of  Sydney :  but  the  light  is  generally- 
defective  in  Rio,  and  the  misty  atmosphere  hinders  one 
from  seeing  all  the  details  of  the  landscape  a':  one  time. 
In  Sydney,  the  air  is  so  clear  that  no  detail  escapes 
one ;  everything  is  sharply  outlined  ;  the  harbor,  with 
its  two  hundred  miles  of  indented  coast,  is  stretched 
out  before  the  eyes  of  the  spectator  in  infinite  meander- 
ings,  presenting  a  new  surprise  at  each  turn.  It  is  a 
succession  of  transformation  scenes.  This  harbor  is  in- 
contestably  one  of  the  most  imposing-looking  of  nature's 
marvels.  The  narrow  entrance  between  two  bold  head- 
lands is  about  half  an  hour's  steaming  from  the  city, 
which  seems  reposing  on  the  water  in  the  far  end  of 
an  immense  broken-coasted  lake.  From  the  bridge 
of  the  Monowai  we  are  shown  by  Captain  Carey  the 
cul  lie  sac  where  the  unfortunate  Dunbar  was  wrecked 
with  her  great  cargo  of  human  souls.  The  entrance  of 
this  trap  bears  a  great  resemblance  to  Sydney  Heads, 
and  the  commander  of  the  Dunbar,  further  mystified 
by  a  thick,  dirty  night,  mistook  the  one  for  the  other, 

51 


52 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


and  steered  the  unhappy  people  to  their  doom.  But 
now  we  are  steaming  cautiously  between  th  great  sheer 
cliffs  that  form  the  real  entrance  to  Sydney  harbor,  and 
in  a  few  moments  there  bursts  upon  our  delighted  eyes 
a  glorious  panorama.  We  are  in  raptures  and  we  do 
not  miss  a  bit  of  it.  It  is  not  only  the  details  that 
charm,  it  is  the  ensemble.     The  eye  is  carried  constantly 


NORTH    HEAD,  SYDNEY. 

from  each  separate  part  to  the  whole.  Each  little  bay 
and  cove  is  lovely,  and  charms  the  sight,  but  the  whole, 
the  immense,  grandiose  whole,  absorbs  one. 

Here  it  is  a  rugged  hill  with  trees  that  seem  to  have 
their  roots  in  the  water ;  there  it  is  an  inviting-looking 
beach ;  further  on  it  is  a  noble  hill,  its  sides  dotted  over 
with  dainty  dwellings,  pretty  houses,  each  set  in  a  gar- 
den, where  the  picturesque  sub-tropical  vegetation,  the 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  53 

magnolia,  the  tree  ferns,  the  cactus  and  a  hundred 
other  such  plants  are  mingled  with  the  loveliest  flowers 
of  Europe. 

After  four  weeks  of  solitude  on  the  ocean,  here  we 
are  in  the  midst  of  life  again.  Ferry-boats  are  crossing 
one  another  in  all  directions,  plying  between  the  city 
and  the  various  suburbs.  There  are  numbers  of  liners 
at  anchor.  We  pass  the  Australian  fleet.  Finally,  after 
half  an  hour,  which  passes  like  a  dream,  we  are  along- 
side the  wharf  at  the  foot  of  the  town.  We  shake  hands 
with  Captain  Carey  and  our  fellow-passengers,  throw  a 
last  glance  of  contempt  at  the  Auckland  intruders,  and 
go  on  shore. 

My  impresario  and  his  son  and  some  dear  friends 
had  come  to  meet  us.  They  did  not  say,  '*  What  kind 
of  passage  have  you  had  ?  "  or  **  How  are  you  ?  "  Noth- 
ing of  the  kind  ;  it  was,  ''  What  do  you  think  of  the 
harbor?"  Some  journalists,  too,  have  come  to  wel- 
come us.  They  crowd  around,  crying  in  chorus,  ''  Well, 
and  what  do  you  think  of  the  harbor?"  It  is  evident 
that  this  harbor  business  is  going  to  be  terribly  over- 
done. "  Your  harbor  is  a  beauty,  no  one  denies  that," 
I  feel  inclined  to  exclaim  ;  "  but,  after  all,  you  did  not 
make  it." 

I  hope  I  am  not  going  to  be  pursued  and  overpowered 
with  the  Sydney  harbor,  for  I  want  to  be  able  to  keep 
it  as  one  of  my  finest  souvenirs  of  travel.  It  is  with 
certain  fine  bits  of  scenery  as  it  is  with  the  tunes  of  // 
Trovatore ;  by  dint  of  hearing  too  much  of  them,  one 
ends  by  cordially  hating  them.  An  idea !  I  will  get 
a  card  printec  and  wear  it  through  Sydney  streets: 
"Your  harbor  is  the  finest  in  the  world." 


54  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

The  luggage  examined,  we  speed  away  to  the  Aus- 
traha  Hotel,  which  we  reach  in  a  few  minutes.  Another 
agreeable  surprise.  The  Australia  Hotel,  where  a  suite 
of  pretty  rooms  has  been  engaged  for  us,  is  a  revelation. 
Neither  Europe  nor  America  has  anything  more  com- 
fortable and  luxurious  to  show.  The  rooms  are  ele- 
gantly furnished,  the  table  excellent,  the  wines  first-class, 
the  manager  most  obliging,  the  service  admirable.  We 
are  going  to  be  in  clover.  The  Australia  is  a  happy 
combination  of  the  best  features  of  European  and  Amer- 
ican hotels.  Sydney  has  as  much  right  to  be  proud  of 
this  hotel  as  of  her  harbor  :  and  she  made  it ! 

Next  morning,  by  the  kind  invitation  of  Lord  and 
Lady  Jersey,  we  lunch  at  Government  House,  and  in 
the  evening  we  are  dined,  or  rather  banqueted,  by  the 
Cosmopolitan  Club.  Sydney  society  hastens  to  welcome 
us,  and  invitations  to  dinners,  dances,  lunches,  picnics, 
pour  in  from  all  sides.  The  Mayor  and  his  charming 
wife  invite  us  to  go  and  hear  the  organ  in  the  Town  Hall ; 
in  a  word,  the  Australians  seem  determined  to  show  us 
that  they  deserve  their  reputation  for  being  the  most 
hospitable  people  in  the  world. 

The  banquet  at  the  Cosmopolitan  Club  was  presided 
over  by  the  Mayor  and  followed  by  an  improvised  con- 
cert, at  which  we  heard  some  high-class  musicians,  all, 
or  almost  all,  of  them  French:  M.  Henri  Kowalski,  a 
pianist,  known  far  beyond  the  Australian  continent;  M. 
Poussard,  the  violinist;  M.  Deslouis,  the  fine  baritone; 
Madame  Charbonnet,  the  distinguished  pianist.  Music 
is  in  good  hands  in  Sydney,  for  it  is  in  the  hands  of 
French  artists.  The  next  day  I  met  at  the  Town  Hall 
Monseigneur  Moran,  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Sydney, 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


55 


Monseigneur  Carr,  Archbishop  of  Melbourne,  and  several 
other  prelates.  The  building  is  magnificent,  the  main 
hall  a  superb  one.  There,  again,  I  was  proud  to  learn 
that  the  beautiful  window  had  been  designed  by  a  com- 
patriot of  mine,  M.  Lucien  Henri,  who  has  adapted  the 
thousand  strange  and  beautiful  forms  of  Australian yZf^r^: 
?iv\(\  faufia  to  architectural  purposes.  With  M.  Henri 
this  has  been  a  labor  of  love  which  has  absorbed  his 
brain  for  years,  and  I  was  glad  to  learn  that  the  New 
South  Wales  Government  had  pledged  itself  to  take  two 
hundred  copies  of  the  truly  great  work  he  has  prepared 
on  the  subject. 

As  for  the  organ,  everyone  knows  it  is  the  most  com- 
plete that  exists.  The  organist,  M.  Wiegand,  a  Belgian, 
almost  a  Frenchman,  executed  several  pieces,  which 
showed  to  advantage  the  player  and  the  instrument. 

Sydney  is  a  town  of  about  four  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants,  well  built,  possessing  several  fine  buildings, 
among  which  may  be  named  the  Post  Office,  the  Town 
Hall  and  the  Parliament  Houses;  it  has  pretty  theatres, 
parks  and  public  gardens.  If  the  town  were  built  like 
an  amphitheatre  around  the  bay  it  might  be  classed 
among  the  loveliest  in  the  world  ;  but  the  harbor  is  only 
seen  in  the  elegant  suburbs  of  Darling  Point,  Pott's 
Point,  Elizabeth  Bay,  Rose  Bay,  etc.  The  city  proper 
is  built  pretty  much  on  the  flat  in  the  hollow  of  the  gulf, 
and  bears  a  strikir<g  resemblance  to  some  of  the  towns 
of  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire,  such  as  Manchester,  Leeds 
or  Bradford.  But  if  the  town  strikes  you  as  merely  one 
more  gigantic  monument  erected  to  British  activity — 
just  think  a  moment,  a  town  of  four  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants,  where  sixty  years  ago  there  were  but  a  few 


S6 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


convicts — the  suburbs,  built  upon  the  points  that  jut  out 
into  the  harbor,  arrest  your  admiration  by  their  surpris- 
ing beauty.  Many  of  the  houses  here  are  perfect  httle 
palaces,  among  others,  the  one  which  was  inhabited 
when  I  was  in  Sydney  by  Lady  Martin,  widow  of  the 
great  Australian  jurisconsult.  The  view  from  the  house 
and  grounds  was  fairy-like  in  its  beauty,  and  wherever 


VIEW   OF   SYDNEY   FROM    LAVENDER   BAY. 


one  turned  in  the  suburbs  of  Sydney  fresh  beauties  of 
scene  met  the  eye. 

In  the  Museum,  a  great  shanty  in  brick  which  disfig- 
ures the  park,  is  to  be  found  a  collection  of  pictures 
signed  by  some  of  the  greatest  masters ;  but  the  thing 
which  struck  me  as  most  noteworthy  was  a  collection 
of  water-colors,  of  which  the  director,  Mr.  Montefiore, 
himself  an  artist  of  talent,  has  a  right  to  be  proud. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  57 

In  spite  of  the  lovely  climate  which  Sydney  enjoys, 
the  parks  are  not  frequented  by  society.  You  look  in 
vain  for  cafes  or  any  attraction  of  that  kind.  They  are 
simply  great  fields,  rather  well  kept,  where,  as  in  London 
parks,  meet  together  the  street  orators,  the  socialists,  the 
anarchists  and  the  unemployed.  This  by  day.  As  night 
comes  on,  their  place  is  taken  by  lovers  who  come  to 
"  coo  "  to  one  another  on  the  benches  or  loll  about  on 
the  grass.  But  if  the  parks  have  no  attraction  for  us, 
the  Botanical  Garden  more  than  makes  amends.  How 
lovely  it  is  !  Situated  in  a  bend  of  the  harbor  and  gently 
sloping  to  the  water's  edge,  planted  with  the  rarest  trees 
and  flowers,  ornamented  with  pretty  statues,  I  know 
nothing  of  the  kind  that  can  compare  with  it.  In  spite 
of  all  this,  one  does  not  see  many  people  about  the  gar- 
dens, and  when  I  went  there  for  my  favorite  walk,  I 
could  carry  on  my  meditations  perfectly  undisturbed. 
A  couple  of  lovers  on  a  bench,  laced  in  each  other's 
arms  and  gazing  in  each  other's  eyes  without  uttering  a 
word,  a  poor  wretch  lying  on  another  bench,  trying  to 
forget  in  slumber  a  night  passed  in  the  open  air,  and  a 
morning  perhaps  breakfastless,  a  few  loiterers  in  the 
walks  ;  but  no  pretty  toilettes,  nothing  to  denote  the  ex- 
istence of  a  rich  and  elegant  town  a  hundred  yards  off". 

Australia,  like  England,  is  the  country  of  out-of-door 
love-making.  Everyone  to  his  taste.  A  deputation  of 
scandalized  people  one  day  presented  themselves  before 
one  of  the  cabinet  ministers  to  beg  that  he  would  have 
the  park  gates  closed  at  sundown. 

"  I  shall  do  nothing  of  the  kind,"  he  answered. 
"  Leave  those  poor  things  alone.  If  you  feel  shocked, 
avoid  the  parks  at  night  or  stay  in  your  own  houses." 


58  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

For  that  matter  this  is  the  tacit  reply  which  the  Lon- 
don poHce  makes  to  the  reiterated  complaints  made  by 
the  public  on  the  subject  of  the  things  that  take  place 
and  are  tolerated  in  the  parks  of  the  capital  of  the 
''  moral  country  "  par  excellence. 

The  Sydney  parks,  frequented  by  the  lower  classes, 
are  not  the  only  spots  consecrated  to  Venus.  The  bet- 
ter-class, if  not  better-motived  couples,  quit  the  town 
and  push  on  to  the  South  Head,  which  forms  one  of  the 
majestic  pillars  of  the  harbor  entrance.  It  is  a  sight  to 
see  the  procession  of  cabs  with  drawn  blinds  gently 
trotting  to  Bondi,  to  Coogee,  to  South  Head,  and  all 
those  mysterious  Cytheras.  Arrived  at  their  destination 
the  couples  leave  the  cabs,  the  lady  closely  veiled  and 
walking  with  the  modest  bearing  of  a  Sunday-school 
teacher,  and  wander  away  in  the  scrub,  the  thick,  dis- 
creet scrub  that  abounds  all  around.  These  couples,  to 
judge  by  their  appearance,  belong  to  the  superior  classes. 

Take  a  walk  with  a  lady  in  these  parts  and  no  one 
will  take  any  notice  of  you.  You  will  be  regarded  with 
a  look  which  seems  to  say,  "  You  know  what  we  are  up 
to  ;  we  know  what  you  have  come  for  ;  do  not  let  us 
interfere  with  one  another."  But  do  not  venture  there 
alone,  as  I  once  did,  drawn  by  a  curiosity  to  verify  the 
hundred-and-one  stories  that  had  been  whispered  to  me, 
for  you  will  be  received  like  a  dog  in  a  skittle  alley,  and 
at  every  turn  you  will  be  repulsed  with  "  Engaged  !  " 

These  sentimental  promenades  generally  take  place 
in  the  morning  between  ten  and  one,  that  is  to  say,  at  the 
time  of  day  when  papas  and  husbands  are  busy  in  the 
city.  This  shows  plainly  that  the  drawn  cab-blinds  do 
not   screen  young,  afifianced  couples,  to  whom  British 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  59 

custom  allows  so  much  liberty  that  thanks  to  it  they 
can  conduct  their  love  affairs  in  public  without  having 
to  lower  their  eyes,  much  less  the  blinds  of  a  cab. 

Impossible  to  speak  of  Sydney  cabs  without  asking 
why  this  city  does  not  possess  a  single  cab  holding  more 
than  two  people.  It  is  not  everybody  who  wants  to  go 
to  South  Head,  after  all !  If  you  happen  to  be  three  or 
four  going  to  a  ball  or  a  theatre  you  must  take  two  cabs  ; 
if  you  have  to  go  to  the  station  with  six  trunks,  you 
must  take  six  cabs  Sydney  is  probably  the  only  im- 
portant town  in  the  world  that  has  no  public  carriages 
with  four  places. 

After  a  three  weeks'  sojourn  in  Sydney,  I  left  with 
great  regret  the  charming  people  who  had  given  me 
such  a  hearty  reception  ;  I  left  the  Australia  feeling 
pretty  certain  that  I  should  not  again  find  such  ac- 
commodation in  any  hotel  in  the  Colonies.  On  arriving 
at  the  station  to  take  the  train  for  Melbourne,  we  found 
the  director  of  the  line,  the  station  master  and  several 
other  important  officials  waiting  to  put  us  into  a  re- 
served carriage  and  to  w  ish  us  a  good  journey.  Friends 
had  brought  bouquets  for  the  ladies,  and  when  the  train 
started  w^e  carried  away  with  us  a  most  delightful  mem- 
ory of  Sydney. 

The  journey  from  Sydney  to  Melbourne  takes  eigh- 
teen hours  and  calls  for  no  notice.  Flat  stretches  of 
country  everywhere,  studded  WMth  the  eternal  gum-tree 
and  nothing  else.  At  fiv^e  in  the  morning  you  must 
turn  out  of  your  sleeping  car  to  change  trains  at  Albury 
Station.  You  are  on  the  frontier  of  the  colony  of  Vic- 
toria, and  the  gauge  is  not  the  same  as  you  have  been 


6o  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

traveling  on.  Do  not,  on  account  of  this,  be  led  to  be- 
lieve that  you  are  about  to  penetrate  into  an  enemy's 
country.  There  never  has  been  any  war  between  New 
South  Wales  and  Victoria,  but  simply  a  mean  jealousy 
which  shows  itself  in  all  kinds  of  reprisals.  The  New 
South  Wales  man  says  to  the  Victorian,  *'  To  come  into 
my  country  you  shall  be  made  to  turn  out  of  your  berth 
at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning."  "  I  don't  mind,"  re- 
plies the  Victorian  ;  "  to  come  my  way  you  will  have 
to  do  the  same.  We  are  quits  !  "  All  the  policy  of  these 
two  countries  may  be  summed  up  in  the  two  phrases. 

The  express  train  arrives  at  Melbourne  at  a  quarter- 
past  eleven  in  the  morning,  in  a  station  which  would 
disgrace  an  European  town  of  fifteen  thousand  inhab- 
itants. The  reason,  do  you  ask?  Simply  this,  that 
absurd  sums  have  had  to  be  spent  to  satisfy  the  jealous 
rivalries  of  the  small  towns  and  give  them  finely  built 
stations,  some  of  them  ridiculously  important  looking, 
and  that  there  is  no  money  left  for  the  two  metropoli- 
tan towns,  which  have  plenty  of  business  to  look  after 
and  so  do  not  torment  the  Gov^ernment. 

There  is  no  difficulty  here  in  procuring  cabs,  which 
are  not  the  hansoms  of  Sydney,  but  little  chars-a-bancs 
for  four  persons,  roofed  with  a  tarpaulin  cover  like  a 
grocer's  cart,  and  provided  with  two  steps,  very  high, 
very  narrow,  and  placed  one  above  the  other,  perpen- 
dicularly, which  makes  entrance  difiTicult,  and  descent 
dangerous. 

The  Grand  Hotel,  situated  opposite  the  Houses  of 
Parliament  and  public  gardens,  is  comfortable,  but  after 
the  Australia  of  Sydney,  what  a  come-down !  The 
cuisine  is  not  bad,  but  neither  wine,  beer,  nor  alcoholic 


JOHN    BULI,    &    CO. 


6i 


beverage  is  sold  under  the  roof  of  the  Grand.  One  has 
to  order  it  in  from  a  wine  merchant's,  at  the  risk  of 
making  oneself  conspicuous  in  the  eyes  of  all  the  water 
drinkers  and  tea  tipplers. 

The  city  of  Melbourne  was  founded  in  1835,  and  its 
population  has  increased  with  marvelous  strides.  To- 
day Melbourne  has  more  than  five  hundred  thousand 


TOWN   HALL   AND   SWANSTON    STREET,   MELBOURNE. 
[From  a  rhotograph  by  Lindt,  Melbourne.^ 

inhabitants ;  the  population  of  the  entire  colony  being 
only  eleven  hundred  thousand.  Thus,  the  capital  is  as 
populous  as  the  rest  of  the  colony.  In  New  South 
Wales,  South  Australia,  Western  Australia  and  Queens- 
land we  find  the  same  state  of  things.  It  is  only  in 
New  Zealand  and  South  Africa  that  we  find  the  popu- 
lation spread  over  the  land. 


62  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

Melbourne  cannot  boast  of  any  site  that  is  worth  vis- 
iting; but,  as  a  Melbournian  one  day  said  to  me,  *'  Mel- 
bourne can  afford  to  do  without  scenery." 

The  city,  with  its  activity,  its  broad,  straight  streets, 
its  high  buildings,  its  magnificent  system  of  cable 
trams,  is  essentially  American.  In  Collins  street  you 
can  easily  fancy  yourself  in  New  York  or  Chicago.  If 
I  were  not  always  so  faithful  to  my  first  loves  I  could 
almost  prefer  Melbourne  to  Sydney.  Between  the  two 
it  is  hard  to  express  a  preference. 

In  Melbourne  I  met  with  the  same  amiability,  the 
same  hospitality  as  at  Sydney.  I  found  there  a  choice 
and  intelligent  society,  and  a  people  perhaps  more  ac- 
tive than  those  of  Sydney.  For  instance,  the  Alliance 
Fran^aise,  which  kindly  gave  us  a  reception,  has  nearly 
five  hundred  members.  The  Austral  Salon,  to  whom, 
also,  I  owe  a  charming  afternoon,  is  composed  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  lovers  of  literature  and  art,  who  meet 
together  to  read  and  discuss  literary  masterpieces.  Just 
as  in  America,  one  finds  here  intellectual  life  without 
pedantry. 

Mention  must  be  made  of  a  few  public  buildings 
which  are  imposing-looking:  the  Town  Ilall,  the  Post 
Office,  the  Parliament  Houses,  the  Treasury,  the  Banks 
and  a  Museum  already  rich  in  treasures.  Government 
House,  which  is  about  half  a  mile  from  the  town,  is 
larger  than  that  of  Sydney,  but  neither  so  picturesque 
nor  so  well  situated.  The  ballroom  is  immense — 
quite  as  large  as  that  of  Buckingham  Palace.  The 
honors  are  done  by  the  most  popular  of  all  the  Colonial 
Governors,  and  his  wife,  the  lovely  Countess  of  Hope- 
toun.     When   I    have   said   that    Melbourne    possesses 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  63 

pretty  public  gardens  and  elegant  suburbs,  I  shall  have 
almost  exhausted  the  notes  that  I  took  in  that  city. 

Here,  as  well  as  in  the  other  Colonies,  I  cannot  help 
being  struck  with  the  fact  that  the  English  Colonies  are 
in  the  hands  of  the  Scots.  Out  of  seven  Governors 
five  arc  Scottish ;  the  President  of  the  Legislative  Coun- 
cil is  a  Scot,  and  so  are  three-fourths  of  the  Council- 
ors;  the  Mayor  of  Melbourne  is  of  the  same  nation- 
ality, and  the  Agent-General  in  London  is  another 
Scotsman.*  England  ought  not  to  call  her  Colonies 
Greater  Britain,  but  Greater  Scotland,  and  the  United 
States  might  be  named  Greater  Ireland.  As  for  the 
south  of  New  Zealand,  it  is  as  Scotch  as  Edinburgh, 
and  more  Scotch  than  Glasgow.  Go  to  Broken  Hill, 
the  richest  silver  mine  in  the  world,  and  you  will  see 
five  great  shafts  leading  to  the  treasures  of  the  earth  ; 
these  five  great  shafts  bear  the  following  names :  Drew, 
Maclntyre,  MacGregor,  Jamieson  and  MacCullock,  five 
Scots.     It  is  the  same  thing  everywhere. 

Melbourne,  the  intelligent,  the  much-alive,  closes  its 
museums  on  Sundays.  A  deputation  one  day  waited 
upon  Sir  Graham  Berry,  then  Prime  Minister  of  the  col- 
ony, to  ask  him  to  close  the  taverns  on  Sunday.  The 
deputation  was  chiefly  composed  of  pastors  belonging 
to  all  kinds  of  Nonconformist  churches.  "  I  am  very 
willing,"  said  Sir  Graham,  '*  to  use  my  influence  to  try 
and  get  the  taverns  closed  on  Sundays,  if  you  will  con- 
sent to  my  using  the  same  influence  to  get  the  museums 
opened  instead."  The  reverend  gentlemen  appeared 
not  to  relish  the  terms,  and  as  the  Prime  Minister  did 
not  hear  any  more   from   them,  it   must   be  presumed 

*  Since  replaced  by  another  Scot 


64 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


that  they  preferred  the  pubHc-house  to  the  museums  as 
a  Sunday  resort  for  the  people.  In  England  every  in- 
telligent person  is  clamoring  for  the  opening  of  the 
museums  on  Sunday,  and  they  will  succeed  one  day  in 
obtaining  what  they  ask  ;  but  it  takes  time,  for  the  com- 
bat has  to  be  carried  on  against  all  the  allied  forces  of 
bigotry  and  conservatism.  And  yet  it  was  the  first  and 
greatest  of  Protestants,  Martin  Luther  himself,  who 
said  on  this  very  subject,  "If  anywhere  the  day  is 
made  holy  for  the  mere  day's  sake,  then  I  command 
you  to  work  on  it,  ride  on  it,  dance  on  it,  do  anything  that 
will  reprove  this  encroachment  on  Christian  spirit  and 
liberty."  The  Germans  are  mostly  Protestants,  but  on 
Sundays,  on  leaving  church,  they  go  in  crowds  to  visit 
their  museums  before  returning  home.  Narrow  Sab- 
batarianism is  neither  Protestant  nor  Christian  ;  it  is  a 
Jewish  institution.  But  Luther  is  not  for  England  and 
Scotland,  nor  the  Colonies.  What  they  prefer  is  Cal- 
vin, John  Knox,  and  all  the  enemies  of  simple  joys  and 
innocent  recreations. 

I  repeat,  the  population  of  Melbourne  is  more  than 
five  hundred  thousand  souls,  but,  like  Sydney,  she  could 
spare  a  hundred  thousand  to  the  Bush  without  being 
any  the  worse  for  the  process.  I  know  no  large  town  in 
the  world  containing  so  many  parasites,  drunkards,  and  . 
loafers  who  have  taken  root  there,  but  only  cumber  the 
ground.  They  are  creatures  who  prefer  idleness  with 
poverty  to  hard  work  with  a  competency,  which  they 
could  easily  find  away  from  the  large  towns.  When  I 
was  in  Melbourne  the  Government  had  opened  a  bureau 
to  provide  work  for  the  unemployed.  One  day  it  was 
announced  at  the  bureau  that  ten  navvies  were  required 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  65 

to  begin  the  making  of  a  road  about  sixty  miles  from 
Melbourne.  The  workmen  presented  themselves  at  the 
office,  and  their  names  were  called  according  to  the  date 
of  their  inscription.  The  secretary  had  to  call  over 
more  than  four  hundred  names  before  he  could  get  ten 
men  who  would  make  up  their  minds  to  leave  the  town 
to  go  to  work  in  the  country.  Sydney  and  Melbourne 
are  being  crowded  to  the  detriment  of  the  country  at 
large,  which  bemoans  not  having  enough  hands  to  de- 
velop its  resources.  One  cannot  help  w^ondering  why,  in 
a  country  where  the  Gov^ernment  makes  grants  of  land  at 
the  rate  of  five  shillings  an  acre,  the  desire  of  every  emi- 
grant, every  town  workman,  is  not  to  put  by  a  few 
pounds,  and  to  become  by  his  own  exertions  an  inde- 
pendent person  and  a  landowner.  The  Germans  do  it ; 
the  Italians,  the  Swedes,  and  the  Scotch  do  it,  but  the 
English  and  the  Irish  seem  to  prefer  to  tighten  their 
belts,  and  lounge  about  the  corners  of  the  public-houses 
in  Sydney  and  Melbourne. 

I  cannot  leave  Melbourne  without  expressing  my 
thanks  to  the  genial  French  Consul,  M.  Leon  Dejardin, 
A\ho  gave  me  a  most  cordial  welcome,  helped  me  with 
his  good  advice,  and  gave  me  valuable  information  on 
the  subject  of  Australia. 

The  journey  from  Melbourne  to  Adelaide  is  just  like 
the  one  from  Sydney  to  Melbourne,  a  monotonous 
eighteen  hours'  journey  through  the  eucalyptus.  How- 
ever, an  hour  before  you  reach  Adelaide  the  country  be- 
comes more  hilly,  the  forest  grows  thicker,  and  when, 
from  the  last  hill,  you  look  down  on  Adelaide  the  view 
is  magnificent. 

Adelaide,  a  town  of  a  hundred  thousand  inhabitants, 


66 


JOHN    liULI.    &    CO. 


has  not  yet  attained  such  an  importance  as  Sydney  or 
Melbourne,  but  it  is  making  giant  strides,  and,  thanks 
to  its  cereals,  its  vineyards,  and  its  mines,  it  is  destined 
to  become  the  equal  of  these  two  great  cities.  To  my 
taste,  it  is  the  prettiest  of  the  three.  Adelaide  is  built 
in  blocks,  American  fashion,  and  is  surrounded  by  su- 


1 


&is^^- 


tiUJi 


VICTORIA   SQUARE,  FROM   P.  O.  TOWER,  ADELAIDE 

IFro/ft  a  Photograph  by  Lin  or,  Melbourne. \ 


perb  parks.  Beyond  this  it  is  hedged  around  with  blue 
mountains,  but  the  town  is  so  clean,  so  coquettish-look- 
ing, so  neat,  its  general  appearance  so  gay,  that  you  for- 
get the  landscape,  and  think  of  the  comfort  that  must 
be  found  in  all  those  attractive-looking  houses.  Around 
about  all  looks  prosperous  and  fertile  :  golden  corn  fields, 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  67 

vines,  orange-trees  bending  under  their  wealth  of  fruit, 
rich  pastures,  mines  of  gold,  silver,  and  copper  almost 
in  the  neighborhood  ;  this  is  what  you  admire  about 
Adelaide  much  more  than  its  Post  Office  or  its  Town 
Hall. 

I  passed  a  week  most  agreeably  in  this  pretty  city, 
thanks  in  part,  it  must  be  admitted,  to  the  cordial  recep- 
tion extended  to  me  by  the  Governor  and  Lady  Kin- 
tore,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  (Chief  Justice  Way)  and 
many  others  whom  it  would  be  impossible  to  name. 

If  Melbourne  boasts  of 'its  tramways,  Sydney  of  its 
harbor,  and  Adelaide  of  its  parks,  I  believe  Brisbane, 
the  capital  of  Queensland,  boasts  of  its  river.  At  Bris- 
bane you  are  close  to  the  tropics ;  the  eucalyptus  is  still 
much  to  the  fore,  but  the  vegetation  of  the  tropics  at 
last  breaks  the  monotony  of  the  scene,  and  the  eye, 
tired  of  the  gray-green  gum-tree,  rests  with  delight  upon 
these  luxuriant  growths. 

Apart  from  the  Botanical  Gardens,  which  are  good, 
the  town  contains  little  that  is  likely  to  interest  an  Eu- 
ropean. The  Parliament  House  is  a  fine  building,  and 
there  is  a  magnificent  new  Treasury,  not  yet  in  use, 
though  long  since  completed. 

Among  the  towns  of  secondary  importance,  towns  of 
from  twenty  to  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  we  have  only 
to  mention  Newcastle  in  New  South  Wales,  at  one  time 
prosperous  and  famous  for  its  coal  mines,  but  to-day, 
thanks  to  strikes,  dull,  dreary,  and  poor,  Bendigo,  Bal- 
larat,  and  Geelong,  in  the  colony  of  Victoria.  Bendigo 
and  Ballarat,  where  more  than  $150,000,000  of  gold 
were  found  in  thirty  years,  have  retained  some  traces 
of  their  former  opulence.     They  possess  superb  public 


68  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

gardens,  some  fine  edifices,  and  beautiful  statues.  The 
main  street  of  Ballarat  is  of  an  extraordinary  width,  and 
is  the  finest  to  be  seen  in  the  Colonies. 

Australian  towns  have  not  generally  any  history. 
Ballarat  is  an  exception.  It  was  there  that  the  miners, 
headed  by  Peter  Lalor,  sustained  a  bloody  siege  against 
the  English  troops  in  1854.  They  were  beaten,  but 
their  rights  were  acknowledged,  and  their  defeat  turned 
into  a  victory.  Peter  Lalor,  wounded  in  the  shoulder, 
took  refuge  in  the  Bush.  A  price  w-as  put  on  his  head, 
but  he  managed  to  escape  pursuit,  and  after  the  general 
amnesty,  he  became  successively  Member  of  Parliament, 
Minister  and  President  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of 
Victoria.  Ballarat  has  just  erected  to  him  a  statue 
which  has  come  from  the  studio  of  my  talented  friend, 
Nelson  MacLean. 

At  the  present  day  Ballarat  is  as  dead  as  a  dowager, 
that  is  to  say,  as  a  woman  ivho  was. 

In  the  Town  Hall,  you  will  find  the  walls  of  the  main 
hall  hung  with  oleographs  representing  the  Queen,  the 
Prince  of  Wales — such  things  as  tradesmen  send  their 
customers  at  Christmas.     It  is  pathetic. 

"  How  can  you  put  such  horrors  on  the  walls  of  such 
a  beautiful  hall  ?  "  I  asked  the  Town  Clerk  who  kindly 
accompanied  me. 

"  What  would  you  have  us  do  ?  "  he  said.  "  We  can- 
not afTord  to  buy  paintings.  These  are  better  than 
nothing,  aren't  they  ?  " 

It  reminded  me  of  a  reply  I  got  from  a  man  in  Amer- 
ica who  was  selling  jewelry  set  with  sham  gems. 

**  Does  anybody  really  buy  those  things  ? "  I  asked 
him. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  69 

"  Of  course  they  do,"  he  repHed.  "  What  are  the 
women  to  do  who  haven't  the  money  to  buy  real  dia- 
monds ?  " 

However,  I  must  add  that  the  Museum  contains  many 
valuable  pictures,  and  I  saw  more  works  of  art  in  Bal- 
larat  than  in  any  town  of  the  same  size. 

Bendigo,  the  other  gold-mining  town,  is  more  lively 
than  Ballarat,  but  not  so  pretty.  However,  it  has  a 
very  fine  Square,  surrounded  with  buildings  which  would 
do  honor  to  a  more  important  town.  It  has  also  a  laby- 
rinth of  ferns  which  I  recommend  to  lovers  in  search  of 
a  quiet  retreat,  fresh  and  inviting.  For  that  matter, 
heaven  knows  it  is  made  use  enough  of,  and  needs  not 
my  recommendation  ! 

Geelong  is  a  sleepy  little  place,  given  up  to  the  nar- 
rowest bigotry.  It,  like  Melbourne,  is  situated  on  the 
coast  of  Phillip's  Bay. 

It  is  in  this  city  of  saints  (each  colony  seems  to  boast 
one)  that  one  of  the  notable  inhabitants,  an  antediluvian 
fossil,  went  to  the  booking  oflfice  to  ask,  before  taking 
tickets  for  my  lectures,  if  it  was  not  dangerous  to  take 
ladies  to  hear  *'  that  Frenchman."  It  was  also  in  this 
interesting  town  that  an  anonymous  wag  sent  me  the 
portrait  of  Wellington,  advising  me  to  place  it  where  I 
should  never  lose  sight  of  it.  Would  it  not  have  been 
more  polite  and  more  Christian  to  send  to  a  Frenchman 
passing  through  Geelong  a  portrait  of  General  Bosquet, 
for  instance,  who,  at  the  battle  of  Inkermann,  saved  the 
lives  of  a  whole  division  of  English  who  were  going  to 
be  massacred  to  the  last  man  by  the  Russians  ? 

Geelong  was  intended  to  be  the  capital  of  Australia, 
and,  who  knows,  perhaps  of  the  world  ;  but — how  did 


70 


JOHN    BULL    &   CO. 


It  happen  ?  I  know  not— it  is  Melbourne  that  is  the 
capital  of  the  colony,  and  Geelong,  after  having  held 
almost  in  its  grasp  the  pivot  of  the  universe,  remains— 
Geelong. 

Sic  transit  gloria  mundi. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

People  of  Society,  People  in  Society,  and  "Society"  People— 
The  "Sets" — Society  Papers — "Miss  D.  looked  thrillingly 
lovely  in  electric  blue  " — The  Australian  Women  are  Beauti- 
ful— Imitation  of  the  Old  World — A  Tasmanian  Snob — 
Darling  Point,  Pott's  Point  and  Sore  Point — A  Melbourne 
Journalist  on  his  Townspeople. 

For  centuries  past  the  Old  World  has  tolerated  an 
idle  class  in  consideration  of  certain  services  that  it 
renders  to  the  arts,  which  it  protects,  to  commerce,  which 
it  helps,  to  elegance,  which  it  inculcates,  and  to  good 
manners,  which  it  perpetuates,  but  the  young  worlds 
ought  to  keep  all  their  admiration  for  self-abnegation, 
for  courage,  work  and  the  pride  of  duty  accomplished, 
and  ought  not  to  tolerate  any  society  but  one  which  can 
boast  of  contributing  to  the  advancement  of  its  country. 
Yet  there  are  to  be  found  in  Australia,  a  country  which 
owes  its  existence  and  its  outlook  to  valiant  pioneers 
with  faces  wrinkled  by  toil  and  suffering,  and  arms 
burnt  by  the  sun,  people  who  are  already  beginning  to 
boast  of  not  working  with  their  hands,  parasites  who 
imitate  all  the  idlers  of  the  Old  World,  and  whose  only 
aim  in  life  is  to  obtain  a  footing  in  a  certain  "  set." 

These  people,  people  who  have  inherited  fortunes 
earned  by  means  of  hard  work  and  a  life  of  complete 
abnegation,  already  run  down  the  Colonies  and  would 
think  it  beneath  them  to  drink  a  glass  of  the  excellent 
wine  that  Australia  produces.     They  shut  their  ears  to 

71 


72  JOHN    BULI.    &    CO. 

Madame  Melba  whilst  she  was  among  them  and  of 
them,  but  to-day  they  would  willingly  pay  five  pounds 
for  an  orchestra  stall,  I  have  no  doubt,  if  the  diva  would 
go  and  sing  in  Melbourne  or  Sydney. 

Colonial  society  has  absolutely  nothing  original  about 
it.  It  is  content  to  copy  all  the  shams,  all  the  follies, 
all  the  impostures  of  the  Old  British  World.  You  will 
find  in  the  southern  hemisphere  that  venality,  adoration 
of  the  golden  calf,  hypocrisy  and  cant  are  still  more 
noticeable  than  in  England,  and  I  can  assure  you  that 
a  badly  cut  coat  would  be  the  means  of  closing  more 
doors  upon  you  than  would  a  doubtful  reputation. 

And  the  women  of  that  society !  They  are  sublime 
with  their  *'  sets,"  even  away  in  little  Bush  towns ! 

In  a  little  hole  of  a  country  town  containing  about 
two  thousand  inhabitants,  I  met  one  day  a  lady,  with 
whom  I  entered  into  conversation  by  saying  that  I  had 
met  a  fellow-townswoman  of  hers  in  Sydney,  and  I 
added,  mentioning  the  name,  *'  You  know  her,  no 
doubt?" 

"  Ye-e-es,"  said  she,  as  if  trying  to  ransack  her  mem- 
ory ;  "  I  know  her — by  name,  but  she  and  I  do  not  mix 
in  the  same  society." 

"  Just  so,"  I  said.     **  Not  in  the  same  set,  eh  ?" 

"  Precisely." 

The  select  colonial  was  the  wife  of  an  ironmonger  of 
the  town. 

My  dear  lady,  those  women,  you  understand,  could 
not  all  be  ironmongers'  wives ! 

I  know  of  a  Melbourne  lady  who  boasted  of  being 
obliged  to  drop  the  acquaintance  of  a  charming  and 
distinguished    woman,    because,   said    she,    '*  I    cannot 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  73 

have  hansoms  standing  at  my  door  on  my  reception 
days." 

Another  said  to  me  one  day,  "  Really,  the  shopkeeper 
class  is  getting  intolerable  ;  it  is  pushing  itself  into  so- 
ciety everywhere."  The  father  of  this  grand  person,  I 
found,  himself  kept  a  shop  in  the  environs  of  Mel- 
bourne. 

And  here  let  me  frankly  say  that  I  am  getting  a  little 
tired  of  hearing  about  the  modesty  and  seriousness  of 
the  Englishwoman,  and  of  hearing  the  Frenchwoman 
called  frivolous.  Have  I  not  seen  at  bazaars  in  Eng- 
land and  its  Colonies — sanctified  fairs  organized  to  pro- 
vide an  organ  for  the  church  or  a  peal  of  bells  for  the 
tower — have  we  not  all  seen  women  and  girls  conduct- 
ing themselves  with  unblushing  effrontery  to  fill  the 
coffers  of  the  cause?  Have  I  not  seen  in  shop  windows 
their  portraits  in  low-necked  dresses,  and  with  their 
names  attached  ?  "  Why  not  their  address  ?  "  a  French- 
man would  say,  if  such  things  were  seen  in  France. 

Our  women,  thanks  be,  are  more  modest  and  more 
serious  than  that.  Not  only  they  do  not  permit  the 
photographer  to  exhibit  their  portraits  in  his  window, 
but  if  you  go  to  the  Salon  and  see  the  portraits  of  our 
women  painted  by  Bonnat,  Carolus  Duran,  and  the 
rest,  you  will  never  see  the  name  of  the  original  in  the 
catalogue.  On  the  Boulevards,  it  ig  true,  one  sees  the 
photographs  of  our  actresses,  with  the  name  of  each  at 
the  foot  of  the  picture,  but  that  is  quite  another  matter  : 
the  profession  of  the  stage  obliges  those  who  follow  it 
to  keep  themselves  constantly  before  the  public. 

Yes,  many  voyages  in  many  lands  have  but  strength- 
ened my  admiration  for  the  Frenchwoman,  that  clever, 


74  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

thrifty  housekeeper,  tactful,  cheering  wife,  dutiful  and 
devoted  daughter,  and  wise  and  watchful  mother,  de- 
servedly adored  of  her  children. 

But  let  us  return  to  our  sets  and  snobs. 

There  exist  in  the  great  towns  of  Australia  from  five 
to  ten  papers,  called  society  papers,  which  live  on  that 
ugly  Anglo-Saxon  failing,  snobbery.  This  is  a  word 
for  which  an  equivalent  does  not  exist  in  the  French 
language,  and  I  think  that  our  most  implacable  ene- 
mies would  admit  that  we  have  not  the  fault  itself. 
Heaven  knows  we  have  enough  others,  but  if  I  some- 
times feel  proud  of  my  nationality  it  is,  among  a  hun- 
dred other  reasons,  because  we  have  no  society  papers. 
It  would  concern  us  little  to  know  that  Miss  Jones  took 
tea  with  Miss  Robinson  on  Monday,  or  that  Miss  Brown 
went  to  Mrs.  Smith's  dance  on  Tuesday.  It  does  not 
interest  us  to  know  that  *'  Mrs.  A.  looked  superb  in 
pink  at  Mrs.  B.'s  ball,"  and  that  *'  Mrs.  C.  received  her 
guests  with  much  grace  at  the  entrance  to  the  drawing 
room,"  nor  does  it  concern  us  to  know  that  "  Miss  D. 
looked  thrillingly  lovely  in  electric  blue." 

Snobbery  is  not  an  Australian  characteristic,  but  an 
Anglo-Saxon  one  developed  to  the  extreme  in  the  Colo- 
nies. It  is  noticeable  in  England,  Canada,  the  United 
States,  and  everywhere  that  the  English  language  is 
spoken.  In  all  these  countries  the  society  paper 
flourishes. 

In  Australia  it  is  not  only  Melbourne,  Sydney,  and 
Adelaide  that  indulge  in  the  luxury.  There  is  scarcely 
a  little  suburb  which  has  not  its  own  society  paper.  It 
is  as  if  we  had  a  Batignolles  GazettCy  chronicling  the 
doings  and  sayings  of  that  respectable  quarter  of  Paris. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  75 

Imagine  a  French  person  reading  such  a  sheet,  if  it  did 
exist  I 

The  most  curious  part  of  it  is,  that  all  these  Anglo- 
Saxon  society  papers  adopt  the  tone  of  Censores  Morum; 
and  there  is  not  one  of  them  which  does  not  set  up  as 
a  weekly  Juvenal,  at  the  same  time  flattering  its  readers 
by  giving  accounts  of  their  doings  at  home,  with  details 
that  might  well  make  a  self-respecting  hostess  blush. 

In  society,  in  the  great  towns  of  Australia,  I  saw 
plenty  of  beautiful  women  ;  women  with  lovely  faces  sur- 
mounting most  beautifully  moulded  forms ;  but  I  think 
I  met  there  some  of  the  most  frivolous  women  to  be 
found  anywhere.  Balls,  dinners,  soirees,  calls,  garden 
parties,  appear  to  fill  the  life  of  hundreds  of  them. 
Such  women  are  quite  without  originality.  Their  con- 
versation is  neither  interesting,  entertaining,  nor  natural. 
The  consequence  is  that  social  life  has  neither  the  re- 
fined elegance  and  witty  vivacity  of  Paris,  nor  the  verve 
and  intellectual  animation  of  Boston  and  New  York. 
The  men  are  too  apt  to  talk  finance,  wool  and  mutton ; 
the  women  to  talk  dress  and  scandal,  discussing  the  ques- 
tion whether  Mrs.  So-and-So  belongs  to  this  or  that 
**set." 

Happily  these  have  not  the  whole  field  to  themselves, 
for  there  are  plenty  of  people  in  Australia  who,  while 
mixing  in  society,  yet  find  time  to  read  and  think  and 
to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  any  good  work  that  needs 
champions  and  helpers.  And  when  I  have  said  that  I 
met,  in  the  Colonies,  numbers  of  charming  people,  as 
amiable  and  distinguished  as  could  be  desired  in  the 
best  European  society,  I  hope  that  will  be  sufficient  to 
prevent  this  chapter  from  being  read  in  a  wTong  spirit. 


^6  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

So,  dear  madam,  who  do  me  the  honor  to  read  me  in 
Sydney  or  Melbourne,  please  understand  that  nothing 
in  this  chapter  is  addressed  to  you.  The  society  of 
which  I  speak  is  not  yours,  but  the  other,  the  one  that 
is  written  between  inverted  commas. 

While  on  the  topic  of  snobs,  allow  me  to  illustrate 
with  a  personal  anecdote. 

There  existed  in  Hobart,  Tasmania,  at  the  time  of 
my  visit  there,  a  weekly  rag,  which,  having  learnt  that 
I  was  once  a  professor  at  St.  Paul's  School,  London, 
thought  to  insult  me  by  calling  me  *'  an  usher."  I  must 
say  it  did  me  no  manner  of  harm  :  it  was  one  of  those 
would-be  insults  that  hurt  the  person  who  utters  them 
more  than  the  one  whom  they  are  meant  for.  This  was 
the  only  disagreeable  note  that  reached  my  ears  amid 
a  chorus  of  praise,  the  only  mud  splash  that  I  received 
in  the  Colonies,  and  it  left  no  stain.  M.  Alphonse  Dau- 
det,  in  his  Trent e  Atis  de  PariSy  boasts  of  having  been 
an  usher,  so  I  might  well  be  proud  of  it — if  I  had  been 
one! 

Poor  silly  snob ! 

Place  two  Englishmen  on  a  desert  island,  and  in  a 
little  while  one  of  them  will  have  found  out  that  his 
grandfather  was  better  than  the  grandfather  of  the 
other,  and  he  will  have  inaugurated  an  aristocracy  in 
the  island,  if  not  started  a  society  paper  to  record  his 
own  doings. 

The  greater  part  of  would-be  society  people,  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  countries  above  all,  pass  a  great  deal  of  their 
time  in  discovering  their  ancestors,  and  in  growing  for 
themselves  a  genealogical  tree,  with   the  trunk  taking 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  TJ 

root  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  Australians  waste  httle 
time  on  this.  Like  the  rest  of  the  human  race,  they 
have  ancestors,  but  some  of  them  would  prefer  to  have 
none.  Their  origin  in  New^  South  Wales  and  Tas- 
mania is  a  dehcate  subject,  which  must  not  be  touched 
upon. 

Voltaire  once  said  that  a  man  cannot  be  too  careful 
in  the  choice  of  his  ancestors.  Plenty  of  colonials  have 
overlooked  this  sound  piece  of  advice.  It  is  w^ell  known, 
of  course,  that  the  first  colonials  were  convicts,  and  so 
the  Australians  naturally  interest  themselves  little  in 
any  but  the  two  generations  that  have  preceded  them. 
Yet  it  must  be  remembered  that,  up  to  sixty  or  seventy 
years  ago,  England  transported  to  Australia  poor 
wretches  whose  crimes  w^ould  be  punished  in  the  pres- 
ent day  with  a  few  days'  imprisonment,  or  even  a  fine 
of  a  few  shillings.  Moreover,  w^e  are  entering  on  an 
age  when  people  are  judged  by  their  own  merits,  and 
not  by  those  of  their  ancestors.  Nevertheless,  the  fact 
remains. 

Sydney  aristocracy  has  taken  up  its  residence  in  the 
suburbs  of  the  town,  on  beautiful  promontories  com- 
manding a  view  of  the  loveliest  harbor  in  the  world. 
These  elegant  suburbs  are  called  Darling  Point,  Pott's 
Point,  etc.     Darling  Point  is  the  fashionable  place. 

Just  opposite  this  lies  Cockatoo  Island,  where  con- 
victs sojourned  in  days  gone  by.     That  is  Sore  Point. 

Botany  Bay  has  ceased  to  exist  for  a  long  time  past. 
It  is  now^  Elizabeth  Bay,  Rose  Bay,  and  many  other 
places  affected  by  people  whom  I  found  to  be,  for  the 
most  part,  of  an  amiability  and  hospitahty  which  I  shall 
never  forget. 


78  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

Mr.  James  Smith,  one  of  the  best-known  AustraHan 
journalists,  commenting  on  Mr.  H.  C.  J.  Lingard's 
Juvenal  in  Melbourne,  says  :  **  There  are  few  cities  or 
communities  which  afford  greater  scope  for  the  cen- 
sor and  the  satirist  than  our  own  ;  its  vices,  its  reHgious 
hypocrisies,  its  pohtical  folHes,  its  social  shams,  its  ab- 
ject worship  of  money  and  what  money  can  buy,  its 
low  standard  of  commercial  morality,  its  debased  and 
debasing  taste  in  the  matter  of  literature,  art  and  music, 
all  invite  the  lash." 

I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  say  that  some  of  the  ugliest 
things  on  Mr.  James  Smith's  list  did  not  come  under  my 
notice  at  all  in  Australia.  The  things  that  I  have  tried  to 
point  out  are  ugly  enough;  but,  after  all,  they  are  only 
foibles,  failings,  weaknesses.  In  all  my  wanderings  in 
Australasia  I  never  saw  such  things  as,  unhappily,  one 
hears  too  much  of  in  the  United  States — judges  and 
juries  who  are  to  be  bought ;  councilmen  who  go  into 
office  to  apply  the  ratepayers'  money  to  the  lining  of 
their  own  pockets  instead  of  to  the  paving  of  the  public 
streets.  I  noticed  nothing  in  Australia  which  could  lead 
one  to  suppose  that  it  has  not  the  righteousness  which 
"  exalteth  a  nation." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Hospitality  in  the  Colonies — Different  People  at  Home  and 
Abroad — Extreme  Courtesy  of  the  Australian — Childishness 
— Visit  to  the  Four  Everlasting  Buildings  of  the  Colonial 
Towns — Impressions — Wild  Expenditure — Give  Us  a  Prison 
—"Who  is  Bismarck  ?"—"  Don't  Know  "—In  the  Olden 
Time. 

Like  the  English  at  home,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
English  Colonies  are  the  most  amiable  and  most  hospi- 
table in  the  world.  I  say,  and  repeat  emphatically,  '*  like 
the  English  at  home,"  for  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  judge 
the  English  by  the  specimens  one  meets  traveling  on 
the  Continent. 

And  here,  perhaps,  a  question  might  be  asked :  How 
is  it  that  the  English,  who  are  so  ami-^ble  at  home,  are 
often  so  disagreeable  when  they  are  on  their  travels  ? 
And  we  might,  in  reply,  quote  the  question  that  M. 
Labiche  asks  in  Lc  Voyage  de  M.  Pcrrichon:  '*  How  is  it 
that  the  French,  who  are  so  witty  at  home,  are  so  stu- 
pid abroad  ?  " 

If  one  wants  to  judge  of  a  man,  one  must  study  him 
at  home,  when  he  has  his  natural  surroundings,  and  he 
is  thoroughly  himself.  Ignorance  of  the  language, 
uses  and  customs  of  a  foreign  country  make  him  awk- 
ward. Abroad  he  is  playing  a  role  for  which  Nature 
never  cast  him.  Setting  aside  the  perfect  gentleman — 
who  is  a  perfect  gentleman  everywhere — a  man  out  of 
his  ow^n  country  is  more  or  less  like  a  fish  out  of  water. 

79 


8o  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

He  does  not  breathe  freely,  he  is  out  of  his  element,  he 
is  not  at  his  ease,  much  less  at  his  best.  He  is  not  him- 
self. I  think  God,  when  he  created  man,  must  have 
said  to  him,  "  Thou  shalt  stay  at  home." 

The  Englishman  at  home  pleases  me,  and  I  do  my 
best  to  please  him  ;  but  let  an  Englishman  in  Paris  stop 
me  to  ask,  without  even  lifting  his  hat,  "  Oh  est  le  roue 
de  Rcvolcy  ?  "  and  he  displeases  and  annoys  me,  so  that 
I  promptly  answer,  "  Connais  pas  !  " 

Upon  my  word,  I  believe  that  their  very  looks  are 
changed  when  they  travel.  I  confess  that  I  never  met 
in  England  w^ith  the  red-whiskered  men  and  the  long- 
toothed  women  who  figure  as  English  people  in  French 
comic  papers  ;  but  I  must,  in  justice  to  our  caricaturists, 
say,  that  in  P" ranee,  in  Switzerland,  and  wherever  the 
tourist  is  to  be  found,  I  have  seen  these  types  by  the 
dozen ;  and  the  most  curious  part  of  it  is,  that  numbers 
of  my  English  friends  perfectly  agree  with  me  on  this 
point.  Explain  this  phenomenon,  O  ye  readers  of 
riddles ! 

Just  like  the  English  at  home,  I  found  the  Austra- 
lians— and,  to  include  the  people  of  New  Zealand  and 
Tasmania,  I  should  say  the  Australasians — great  in  hos- 
pitality. I  do  not  remember,  for  instance,  a  single 
town  where,  on  the  day  of  my  arrival,  I  was  not  put  up 
at  the  club  of  the  locality.  It  was  who  should  give  me 
a  drive  or  a  mount,  a  picnic  or  a  shooting-party.  The 
most  hearty  invitations  were  tendered  from  all  sides. 
In  the  Bush,  it  is  open-house  hospitality ;  the  stranger 
may  enter  and  eat ;  nay,  in  many  cases  sleep,  if  it  please 
him  to  do  so. 

If  the  people  of  the  Colonies  have  all  the  little  fail- 


JOHN     lUJi.L    cS:    CO.  -  8 1 

ings  of  a  young  society,  they  have,  without  exception, 
all  the  qualities.     In  this  they  resemble  the  Americans. 

And  what  is  Australia  but  a  newer  America  ? 

But  let  us  not  anticipate. 

The  fact  is,  however — so  much  may  be  stated  to  start 
with — the  Australian  begins  to  dislike  hearing  himself 
called  colonial.  He  is  proud  of  his  country  ;  the  spirit 
of  nationality  is  growing  in  him  day  by  day,  and  he  is 
proud  to  call  himself  and  hear  himself  called  Austra- 
lian. 

He  is  proud,  not  only  of  his  country,  but  of  his  little 
town  that  he  has  seen  spring  up  through  the  earth,  so 
to  speak,  and  that  he  has  labored  to  make  flourishing. 
Like  the  American,  he  asks  you  as  you  leave  the  rail- 
way carriage,  almost  before  you  have  had  time  to  shake 
the  dust  from  your  garments,  what  you  think  of  Aus- 
tralia, of  his  little  town  that  you  have  only  just  set 
eyes  on ;  and,  though  the  place  should  consist  of  but 
one  small  street,  dotted  with  wooden  cottages,  he  will 
offer  without  delay  to  take  you  round  and  show  you 
the  sights  of  the  town.  The  sights  of  the  town  !  That 
is  too  funny  for  anything. 

People  to  whom  I  had  never  spoken  would  cross  the 
road  to  come  and  say,  "  Look  about  you  well,  sir  ;  you 
are  in  the  garden  of  Australia  here."  Each  district  in 
Australia  seemed  to  be  "  the  garden  of  the  Colonies." 
My  response  also  was  stereotyped :  *'  You  are  right 
to  be  proud  of  your  district,  which  is  evidently  the  most 
beautiful  in  the  Colonies." 

I  used  to  be  taken  to  see  little  buildings  composed  of 
three  or  four  rooms,  furnished  with  a  table,  four  or  fiv^e 
benches,  a  blackboard,  and  a  map.     They  were  called 


82  JOHN    BULL    &     CO. 

Technical  Schools  or  Schools  of  Art.  In  the  vestibule 
there  was  always  a  visitors'  book  where  I  was  requested 
to  put  down  my  impressions.  Making  bricks  without 
straw  was  child's  play  to  this.  There  was  nothing  to 
be  done  but  adopt  another  stereotyped  phrase  :  "  Con- 
sidering the  age  of  this  town,  I  know  few  places  that 
have  a  more  promising  School  of  Art."  Is  it  not  the 
counterpart  of  America,  where  in  the  veriest  little  vil- 
lages there  is  sold  an  album  of  views  of  the  district  ? 
that  is  to  say,  photographs  of  Smith's  pharmacy,  Jones's 
drapery  establishment,  and  the  hotel  kept  by  Brown. 

The  happiness  of  the  Australians  is  something  envi- 
able. They  are  so  satisfied  with  themselves  and  all 
that  is  Australian.  When  they  travel  they  utter  cries 
of  admiration  at  the  sight  of  a  hill  that  they  call  a 
mountain,  or  a  trickling  stream  that  they  call  a  river.  It 
is  curious  to  find  a  restricted  and  provincial  turn  of  mind 
in  the  inhabitaits  of  such  a  vast,  grand  country.  If 
you  were  not  to  congratulate  them  upon  the  things  that 
they  have  accomplished,  you  would  be  wanting  not 
only  in  generosity,  but  in  politeness,  and  I  thank  heaven 
that  I  was  able  to  make  some  return  for  the  amiability 
of  my  hosts,  by  visiting  all  the  post  offices,  town 
halls,  hospitals,  and  technical  schools  of  the  different 
towns. 

Among  my  subjects  for  the  platform  was  one  en- 
titled "  The  Happiest  Nation  on  Earth."  It  was  a 
chat  on  France  and  the  French.  I  have  been  traveling 
about  the  world  a  great  deal  during  tiie  past  ten  years, 
and  have  long  since  come  to  the  conclusion  that  France, 
whatever  may  be  her  defects,  her  faults,  her  vices  even, 
is  the  happiest  of  the  nations  of  the  globv:,  and  certainly 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  83 

the  country  where  people  best  understand  how  to  h'vc. 
An  Austrahan  came  one  evening  and  sat  by  me  in  the 
smoke-room  of  a  club.  "  What  an  astonishing  power 
of  observation  you  have  !  "  he  said.  "  You  have  not  been 
more  than  two  months  in  the  Colonies,  and  I  see  by  the 
papers  that  you  are  going  to  give  a  lecture  on  Austra- 
lia." It  was  evident  that  to  him  the  happiest  nation 
on  earth  could  only  mean  Australia. 

Nations  are  like  individuals.  When  they  are  young 
they  possess  all  the  characteristics  of  childhood — curi- 
osity, susceptibility,  the  love  of  hearing  themselves 
praised,  jealousy  of  the  younger  brother  or  sister  if  the 
plums  are  not  distributed  with  strict  impartiality. 

I  know  a  little  New  South  Wales  town  of  fifteen  or 
sixteen  hundred  inhabitants,  which,  being  jealous  of  its 
neighbor  because  a  prison  had  been  built  for  it,  insisted 
that  the  member  of  Parliament  should  obtain  from  the 
Government  as  large  and  as  handsome  a  prison  as  that 
of  the  neighboring  town.  As  usual,  the  Government  ac- 
ceded to  the  demand  of  the  member.  This  is  how  big 
buildings  spring  up  in  the  Colonies.  The  electors  say 
to  their  representativ^e,  "If  you  do  not  obtain  a  new 
Town  Hall  or  Post  Office  for  us,  we  shall  not  vote  for 
you  and  you  will  lose  your  seat  and  your  three  hundred 
a  year."  The  member  says  to  the  cabinet  minister,  "  I 
must  have  a  Town  Hall  for  the  town  that  I  represent. 
If  you  do  not  give  it  to  me,  I  shall  not  vote  for  you, 
and  you  will  lose  your  place  and  a  thousand  a  year." 
And  thus  it  is  that,  in  the  most  insignificant  little  towns 
of  two  thousand  inhabitants,  in  the  seven  Colonies  of 
Australia,  you  may  see  a  Town  Hall  that  has  cost  thirty 
thousand  pounds,  a  Pest  Office  that  has  cost  twenty 


84  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

thousand  pounds,  a  Court  House  after  the  same  rate, 
etc.*  To  cope  with  this  reckless  expenditure  the  coun- 
try borrows  money,  and  was  last  summer  in  a  state  bor- 
dering on  bankruptcy. 

The  Australians  have  adopted  the  levice,  *'  Advance, 
Australia ! "  but  it  is  John  Bull  who  advances — the 
funds. 

To  come  back  to  our  little  jealous  town — it  obtained 
its  prison.  But  when  it  was  completed  it  remained  six 
months  without  inmates.  What  did  the  townspeople 
do  but  hold  an  indignation  meeting,  and  pass  a  resolu- 
tion expressing  the  hope  that  the  magistrates  and  the 
police  would  henceforward  strictly  do  their  duty,  so 
that  this  deplorable  state  of  things  might  no  longer 
exist ! 

There  is  happiness  in  believing  oneself  in  possession 
of  what  is  best  in  the  world,  and  the  Australians  enjoy 
that  happiness.  They  are  satisfied  with  their  lot,  and 
no  longer  concern  themselves  about  the  affairs  of  the 
Old  World,  which  has  ceased  to  interest  them.  I  was 
talking  one  day  to  an  Englishman  who  had  been  estab- 
lished in  the  Colonies  nearly  fifty  years.  We  talked 
about  Europe,  and  I  had  occasion  to  mention  Bismarck 
and  a  few  other  well-known  names.  I  verily  believe 
that  he  had  never  heard  any  of  them  before.  Presently 
I  said  to  him  : 

"  Perhaps  you  do  not  take  much  interest  in  the  things 
that  are  going  on  in  Europe  ?  " 

*  In  Maryborough  (Victoria),  there  was  a  ceiling  bought  for  the 
Court  House  at  a  cost  of  ;^6,ooo.  To  put  it  up,  workmen  were  had 
over  from  Germany.  The  town  has  not  yet  four  thousand  inhabit- 
ants. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  85 

"  My  dear  sir,"  he  replied,  "  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I 
shall  soon  have  been  fifty  years  in  this  country,  and  now 
I  can  do  without  Europe  altogether." 

The  true  Australian  takes  more  pleasure  in  hearing 
the  amateurs  of  his  own  particular  town  than  in  listen- 
ing to  the  great  singers  whom  Europe  sends  him  from 
time  to  time.  Left  to  himself,  he  takes  his  pleasures  at 
his  club,  at  church  bazaars,  at  meetings  social  and  polit- 
ical— in  a  word,  in  everything  local. 

Open  any  of  the  newspapers  published  in  the  Colonies, 
and  you  will  see  no  European  news,  so  to  speak,  unless 
it  be  in  Sydney  or  Melbourne ;  but  these  two  cities  are 
not  Australia.  The  real  Australia  consists  of  hundreds 
of  little  centres  of  population  scattered  over  a  continent  of 
about  the  same  size  as  the  whole  of  Europe.  If,  however, 
an  Australian  cricket  team  happens  to  be  in  England  or 
America,  long  cablegrams,  at  eight  shillings  a  word,  keep 
the  Australians  posted  up  in  their  successes  or  reverses. 
The  local  interest  dominates  everything.  The  Ameri- 
cans are  more  advanced.  They  have  passed  through 
their  transformation  period.  Europe  interests  them  ; 
but  it  must  be  added  that  America  is  but  six  days'  jour- 
ney from  Europe,  whereas  from  Australia  to  England 
is  nearly  a  six  weeks'  voyage.  Besides,  Australia  is 
much  younger  than  America. 

Yes,  it  is  young,  that  broad,  brave  Australia,  and 
when  I  think  of  what  it  has  accomplished  in  a  few  years, 
it  seems  to  me  that  it  can  afford  to  laugh  at  its  own  lit- 
tle foibles,  even  as  I  laugh. 

I  was  one  day  taking  a  drive  in  Broken  Hill,  the  rich- 
est place  in  the  world  in  silver  mines — Broken  Hill, 
eight  years  ago  a  desert,  to-day  a  town  with  forty  thou- 


86  JOHN     IJULL    &    CO. 

saiui  inhabitants.  Wo  were  passing  a  little  tumble-down 
building. 

"What  is  that  old  construction?"  1  asked  m\'  com- 
panion,  an  engineer  of  the  district. 

**  Oh,  that  ?  "  he  replied.  "  In  the  old  times  it  was  the 
Court  House." 

"In  the  old  times!"  I  instinctively  thought  of  the 
days  of  the  Crusaders. 

"What  do  you  mean — 'in  the  old  times?'  But  I 
thought  Broken  Hill  was  only  about  six  or  seven  years 
old?" 

"  Oh,"  said  he,  carelessly,  "  I  mean  three  or  four  years 
ago." 

That  is  the  oldcit  time  of  Australia. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Colonial  "  Cheek"— Mutual  Admiration  Society — An  Inquisitive 
Colonial — A  Verbatim  Conversation — An  Amiable  Land- 
lord— Modest  Politicians — Advice  to  England  by  an  Aus- 
tralian Minister  —  Provincialisms  —  Napier  —  Opinions  on 
Madame  Sarah  Bernhardt  —  Mr.  H,  M.  Stanley  and  the 
Municipal  Councilor — The  Czar  had  Better  Behave  Him- 
self— I  Introduce  Sophocles  to  the  Colonies  and  Serve  Cor- 
neille  a  Bad  Turn — An  Invitation  Accepted  with  a  Ven- 
geance. 

You  find  in  the  English  Colonies  all  the  traits  of  char- 
acter possessed  by  the  Americans  and  all  peoples  that 
are  relatively  very  young:  not  only  childishness  and 
irreverence,  but  self-sufficiency  and  "  cheek." 

Each  English  Colony  is  a  little  mutual  admiration 
society,  jealous  of  its  neighbors  and  fully  persuaded  of 
its  own  superiority.  The  strong  provincialism  of  the 
Australians  proceeds  from  their  isolation  and  complete 
ignorance  of  the  Old  World.  Their  self-sufficiency 
springs  from  the  democratic  spirit — the  spirit  of  inde- 
pendence inculcated  in  them  from  the  tenderest  age, 
and  which  makes  every  free-born  Briton  say,  *'  I  am  as 
good  as  my  neighbor,"  which  may  be  interpreted,  "  I 
am  a  good  deal  better." 

J--  is  an  English  sentiment  that  flourishes  in  colonial 
air. 

Let  the  greatest  scientific  men  of  England  meet  at 
the  Mansion   House  to  do  homage  to   M.  Pasteur,  and 

87 


88  JOHN    BULL    Si    CO. 

publicly  acknowledge  the  complete  success  of  his  great 
discoveries,  and  you  will  see  in  the  newspapers  next  day 
a  letter  from  some  pretentious  ignoramus,  declaring 
that  M.  Pasteur  is  overpraised  and  that  his  discoveries 
are  far  from  satisfying  the  writer  of  the  letter. 

If  a  French  workman  found  himself  in  the  Sorbonne 
or  the  College  de  France,  and  heard  a  lecture  by  a  Caro 
or  a  Renan  going  on,  he  would  respectfully  leave  the 
hall  and  say  to  himself,  "  This  is  a  little  beyond  you, 
my  boy  ;  you  have  come  to  the  wrong  place."  An  Eng- 
lish workman,  an  Australian  still  more,  would  quit  the 
building  in  contempt,  probably  shouting,  "  What  in- 
terest can  there  be  in  such  stuff  as  that  ?  How  does  the 
fellow  get  anyone  to  listen  to  it  ?     He  is  a  fool." 

A  strong  characteristic  of  the  lower-class  Australian 
is  irreverence.  Not  irreverence  for  many  things  that 
still  claim  obeisance  in  the  Old  World.  If  it  were  but 
that,  I  could  almost  admire  him  for  it ;  but,  unhappily, 
he  utterly  fails  in  respect  for  most  things  that  are  held, 
and  always  will  be  held,  in  well-deserved  respect  in  any 
world  worth  living  in  ;  for  instance,  such  things  as  old 
age,  talent,  hard-earned  position.  He  speaks  of  his 
parents  as  "the  old  man  and  the  old  woman ; "  and  if  he 
is  not  quite  sure  of  being  able  to  write  lines  as  fine  as 
Shakespeare's,  it  is  because  hj  has  never  tried. 

In  England,  the  people  of  the  lowest  class  often  speak 
of  their  children  as  "encumbrance."  In  Australia  it  is 
the  parents  who  are  the  eii'.umbrance. 

For  this  spirit  of  irreverence  the  parents  themseh'^es 
are  largely  to  blame.  They  6  :  not  subject  their  chil- 
dren to  proper  discipline  ;  in  fact,  young  Australia  can- 
not be  said  to  know  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  discipline." 


V 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  89 

What  a  boon  compulsory  military  training  would  be  to 
the  youth  of  Australia  in  making  them  know  what  sal- 
utary restrictions  and  perfect,  unreasoning  obedience 
mean  ! 

It  is  to  be  regretted,  too,  for  his  sake,  that  woman  does 
not  make  her  influence  felt  enough  to  act  as  a  subduing, 
restraining,  elevating  factor  in  his  existence. 

In  every  corner  of  the  globe  where  two  or  three  Eng- 
lishmen hav^e  congregated,  you  find  that  insupportable 
person,  the  man  who  writes  letters  to  the  newspapers 
to  make  known  his  opinions  urdt  ct  orbi.  Political,  re- 
ligious, social,  commercial,  literary  and  dramatic  ques- 
tions— all  these  are  within  his  domain ;  he  is  omniscient. 
The  type  is  to  be  found  in  London  ;  in  the  provinces 
it  is  rampant.  He  decides  the  greatest  State  questions, 
gives  advice  to  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  criticises  the 
achievements  of  Edison  and  the  discoveries  of  Pasteur ; 
nothing  is  sacred  from  the  pen  of  this  conceited  wise- 
acre. He  has  a  remedy  for  all  the  evils  on  earth,  and 
modestly  signs  his  letters  Veritas^  Justitia,  Observer, 
more  often  Pro  Bono  Ptiblico.  These  people  are  the 
Perrichons  of  Anglo-Saxondom. 

What  cool  impudence,  what  bounce  they  have,  some 
of  those  good  Australians  ! 

I  was  stopped  one  day  in  Sydney  streets  by  a  young 
man,  rather  well  dressed,  who  tapped  me  on  the  shoulder 
and  said,  "  Are  you  Max  O'Rell  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  what  do  you  want  with  me  ?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing.  I  wanted  to  have  a  look  at  you,  that's 
all." 

If  you  are  proud  and  stuck  up,  do  not  go  to  Western 


90  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

America  nor  to  the  Colonics,  where  you  would  soon  be 
brought  to  your  bearings.  On  getting  to  the  hotel  of  a 
certain  Australian  town  one  day,  I  inquired  for  the  ad- 
dress of  a  gentleman  for  whom  I  had  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction. 

"  Where  does  Mr.  B.  live?"  I  asked. 

"  Do  you  mean  Dick  B.  ?  "  replied  the  landlord.  Men 
are  known  as  Tom,  Dick  or  Harry  in  the  Colonies  and 
"  out  West." 

In  another  Australian  hotel  the  landlord  came  to  me 
soon  after  my  arrival  and,  with  a  pleasant  but  somewhat 
protecting  smile,  said,  '*  There  are  about  a  dozen  com- 
mercial travelers  staying  in  the  house  ;  if  you  like,  I  will 
introduce  you  to  them  ;  perhaps,  if  you  make  a  good  im- 
pression on  them,  they  will  go  to  hear  you  in  the  Town 
Hall  to-night." 

This  obliging  host  wanted  to  do  me  a  good  turn.  His 
intentions  were  excellent.     I  thanked  him,  and  declined. 

The  following  is  a  verbatim  account  of  a  conversation 
overheard  in  Broken  Hill  on  the  day  after  my  first  lec- 
ture there.  The  miners  were  all  on  strike,  and  two  of 
them  were  sitting  on  a  fence,  having  a  quiet  chat. 

''  Well,  Bill,  what  did  you  do  last  night  ?  " 

'*  Why,  I  went  to  'ear  Mac  O'Neil." 

''  Mac  O'Neil  ?     Who  the is  he  ?  " 

"  Oh,  don't  yer  know  ?  One  of  Smythe's  *  lit'ry 
,"  with  an  accent  of  great  contempt  on  the  lifry. 

Every  Australian  goose  is  a  swan  at  the  very  least. 
Just  opposite  my  hotel  in  Wagga-Wagga  (how  one 

*  Mr.  R.  S.  Smythe  is  known  to  every  colonial  as  the  manager  of 
literary  men's  lecturing  tours. 


JOHN   r.ULL  &  CO.  91 

must  be  handicapped  when  one  hails  from  Wagga- 
\Va<jga  !)  there  were  three  httle  shops,  one  a  draper's,  an- 
other an  ironmonger's,  the  third  a  grocer's.  The  first 
was  called  Imperial  Emporium,  the  second.  Hall  of 
Commerce,  the  third.  Great  Commercial  Entrepot,  pro- 
nounced by  the  inhabitants  Intcrpott, 

I  pass  over  the  Louvres  and  Bon  Marches  of  Tara- 
kundra,  Maratitipu  and  Ratatata. 

In  a  town  of  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  I  saw  in- 
scribed over  the  door  of  a  little  shop  where  in  the  win- 
dow reposed  a  few  pounds  of  cherries  and  strawberries, 
Palais  dc  Fruits — in  French,  if  you  please. 

But  what  is  this  compared  to  the  little  shop  in  Inver- 
cargill,  New  Zealand,  where  cheap  toys  are  retailed,  and 
which  bears  the  proud  name  of  Leviathan  Toy  Depot  ? 

In  the  politicians  of  the  Colonies  the  self-sufficiency 
becomes  epic.  A  democratic  politician  is  self-sufificient 
enough  anywhere ;  judge  for  yourself  what  he  must  be 
in  the  Colonies. 

Sir  George  Dibbs,  Premier  of  .New  South  Wales,  and 
Knight  Commander  of  St.  Michael  and  St.  George,  went, 
in  the  spring  of  the  year  1892,  to  pass  a  few  months  in 
England,  and  to  profit  by  his  voyage  to  enlighten  the 
English  Government  on  colonial  matters.  For  months 
the  Australian  newspapers  were  full  of  telegrams,  descrip- 
tive of  the  doings  and  sayings  of  the  great  statesman.  He 
had  dined  here,  danced  there  :  he  had  passed  several  days 
at  the  castle  of  Lord  A.  or  hunted  with  Lord  B.  ;  he  had 
been  presented  to  His  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  had  kissed  the  hand  of  the  Queen.  It  was 
Dibbs,  served  up  with  a  fresh  sauce  day  after  day.  Great 
was  the  surprise  of  his  admirers  at  home  to  read  one  day 


92  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

that  the  democrat,  the  almost  republican  Australian,  had 
knelt  before  Her  Majesty  to  receiv^e  the  order  of  knight- 
hood. "  He  deserved  it,"  said  some.  "Going  on  as  he 
was,  he  could  not  escape  it,"  said  others.  "  Well,  it  is 
all  over  now ;  the  English  aristocracy  have  corrupted 
him  !  "  Some  laughed,  some  made  fun  of  it ;  others  be- 
gan to  be  angry.  Cablegrams  continued  to  pour  in,  but 
soon  announced  the  return  of  the  new-made  knight. 
Was  it  a  courtier  or  a  faithful  colonial  that  would  pre- 
sent himself  once  more  among  them  ? 

Sir  George  came  home  and  reappeared  at  a  great  re- 
ception held  in  his  honor  at  the  Sydney  Town  Hall,  in 
his  old  part  of  friend  of  the  people.  It  was  not  a  violet 
and  cherry  colored  ribbon  that  had  changed  him.  He 
had  done  his  best  to  avoid  the  bauble.  The  Queen 
willed  it,  and  he  had  to  bow  to  her  wishes  ;  he  had  done 
it  "  to  oblige  the  lady."  The  next  thing  to  do  was  to 
explain  to  the  young  democracy  of  Australia  the  pur- 
pose of  his  voyage.  The  minister  got  through  this  very 
neatly. 

I  extract  from  his  modest  discourse  the  following  pas- 
sage : 

"  I  am  told  other  people  have  tried  to  do  the  same 
thing  before  me  and  that  I  was  traveling  over  old 
ground.  I  admit  that  is  quite  true.  Great  events  and 
great  success  are  not  achieved  by  the  first  attempt.  It 
is  not  the  first  broadside  that  wins  the  battle,  but  that 
continual  pegging  away  which  we  read  of  in  the  life  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  I  had  numerous  interviews  with 
Mr.  Goschen,  and  found  in  him  a  hard  nut  to  crack. 
One  look  at  his  hard,  strong  lower  jaw  told  me  that  I 
had  met  a  foeman  worthy  of  my  steel  {applause).     Mr. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  93 

Goschen  did  not  like  our  fiscal  policy.  I  told  him  that 
that  was  no  concern  of  his,  but  only  the  concern  of  the 
people  of  New  South  Wales  {cheers),  and  Mr.  Goschen 
succumbed  in  very  little  time." 

If  England,  in  her  maternal  soHcitude,  offered  to  lend 
Mr.  Goschen  to  Australia  to  reduce  its  finances  to  some- 
thing like  order  (as  he  has  already  been  lent  to  Egypt) 
the  people  of  the  Colonies  would  reply  that  Australia 
possesses  Goschens  by  the  dozen,  and  that  John  Bull  may 
mind  his  own  business,  and  keep  to  his  own  country. 

The  Minister  for  National  Defence  of  one  of  the  Aus- 
tralian colonies  (formerly  a  tradesman)  was  on  the 
Thames  one  day  with  several  English  officers.  He  fell 
to  criticising  the  fortifications  and  to  explaining  how 
easy  it  would  be  to  take  London.  The  naval  and  mili- 
tary authoritie  listened  to  the  ex-shopkeeper  and  kept 
their  countenance.  The  sang-froid  of  the  Briton  is 
prodigious.  For  many  a  week  the  anecdote  was  the  de- 
light of  the  London  clubs. 

On  theoccasionof  a  public  holiday-making,  the  mayor 
of  a  little  town  asked  me  to  accompany  him  to  where  the 
townspeople  had  assembled  to  pass  the  day  in  merry- 
making. When  we  reached  the  place,  a  deputation 
came  to  welcome  His  Worship  (thus  do  Ei.glish  mayors 
modestly  compete  with  the  divinity). 

Mr.  Mayor,  withe  ui  alighting  from  the  carriage,  got 
on  his  feet  and  addressed  a  few  impressive  phrases  to 
the  crowd,  who  listened  in  respectful  silence. 

"Yes,  my  dear  fellow-townsmen,"  said  the  worthy 
mayor,  "  enjoy  yourselves,  for  you  deserve  to.  Such  a 
hard-working  community  as  this  can  take  its  holidays 
with  a  light  heart  and  easy  conscience.     I  thank  you  for 


94  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

the  kind  words  you  have  addressed  to  me.  I  feel  them 
very  deeply.  As  long  as  I  have  the  honor  to  be  your 
mayor,  you  may  rest  assured  that  I  shall  always  take  an 
interest  in  the  recreations  of  the  people." 

Never  did  a  Royal  Highness,  opening  a  public  recrea- 
tion ground,  go  through  his  part  with  more  solemnity. 

The  more  isolated  the  town,  the  more  accentuated 
the  provincialism.  On  the  east  coast  of  New  Zealand 
there  is  a  little  town  of  three  or  four  thousand  inhab- 
itants, the  personal  importance  of  which  is  Homeric. 
The  town  is  Napier. 

I  had  just  given  a  lecture  in  Wellington,  the  capital 
of  New  Zealand.  The  hall  was  crowded,  and  never  did 
I  speak  to  a  warmer  or  more  appreciative  audience. 
As  the  people  were  leaving  the  hall,  my  manager  caught 
the  following  scrap  of  conversation  : 

"  What  a  success  !  " 

Then  followed  a  few  flattering  remarks. 

'*  Not  bad,"  said  the  person  addressed  ;  '*  but  it  would 
not  do  for  Napier ;  we  are  more  difficult  to  please  than 
that." 

My  manager  never  dared  take  me  to  Napier.  When 
one  has  satisfied  Paris,  London,  Edinburgh,  Glasgow, 
Birmingham,  Manchester,  Liverpool,  New  York,  Bos- 
ton, Philadelphia,  Chicago,  San  Francisco,  Sydney, 
Melbourne,  Adelaide,  etc.,  one  is  sorry  not  to  be  able  to 
add  Napier  to  the  list. 

It  was  in  Napier  that,  after  the  eminent  baritone 
Santley  had  made  his  appearance  there,  a  newspaper 
gave  it  as  its  opinion  that  there  were  at  least  twenty 
amateurs  in  Napier  who  could  sing  quite  as  well  as 
Santley,  and  much  louder. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  95 

I  should  have  Hkcd  very  much  to  give  a  lecture  in 
French  at  Napier.  I  should  probably  have  heard  next 
day  that  my  French  was  far  from  irreproachable. 

I  one  day  met  a  good  Australian  who  lived  in  a  little 
town  of  a  few  hundred  inhabitants  in  the  colony  of  Vic- 
toria. He  v.as  unable  to  speak  or  understand  a  word 
of  French.  He  had  been  to  Melbourne  to  see  Madame 
Sarah  Bernhardt  play  Adriennc  Lccouvrciir. 

"  Well,"  s?Jd  I  to  him,  **  what  do  you  think  of  our 
great  tragedienne  ?  " 

"  Not  bad,"  he  replied  ;  "  but  I  think  she  is  much 
overpraised  !  " 

A  few  years  ago  Mr.  H.  M.  Stanley  made  a  lecturing 
tour  in  Australia,  under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  R.  S. 
Smythe.  A  few  days  before  taking  Mr.  Stanley  to  New- 
castle, New  South  Wales,  Mr.  Smythe  was  in  that  town 
making  preparations  for  the  great  explorer's  appearance. 
He  meets  a  town  councilor  of  his  acquaintance.  After 
the  exchange  of  the  usual  civilities,  the  town  councilor 
says  to  the  famous  lecture  manager, 

"Well,  Mr.  Smythe,  whom  have  you  brought  us  this 
time?" 

"  I  mean  to  bring  Mr.  Stanley  to  Newcastle  next 
week.     How  do  you  think  he  will  do  in  this  town  ?  " 

"  I  should  not  like  to  say,"  replied  the  worthy  town 
councilor.  "  I  have  given  several  lectures  in  Newcastle 
myself,  and  I  have  never  been  able  to  get  a  good  house." 

A  little  newspaper  of  Nelson,  a  New  Zealand  town  of 
about  two  thousand  mhabitants,  speaking  of  a  lecture 
given  by  Mr.  Stanley,  remarked  that  Mr.  Stanley  was 
well  enough  as  a  lecturer,  but  that  "  he  was  not  well  up 
in  his  subject." 


96  JOHN    IJULL    &    CO. 

It  was  this  same  paper  which,  upon  the  expulsion  of 
the  Jews  by  order  of  the  Russian  government,  pubHshed 
an  article  entitled,  '*  Our  Warning  to  the  Czar." 

The  Czar  had  better  behave  himself. 

I  myself  had  the  happiness  of  not  displeasing  the 
mighty  organ  of  Nelson  too  much,  for  it  declared  that 
my  lectures  were  "  excellent,"  btit^  "  unfortunately,  not 
equally  balanced."    I  was  let  off  easy. 

But  the  best  souvenir  I  have  of  this  kind  is  perhaps 
this  one  : 

It  was  in  B.,  a  little  town  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
hundred  inhabitants  in  Cape  Colony. 

I  was  to  give  a  public  lecture  in  the  Lyric  Hall  one 
evening. 

Lyric  Hall — what  a  name  for  it  !  Four  wooden  walls 
outside,  benches  inside,  and  at  one  end  a  stage  framed 
in  with  boards,  on  which  a  few  nymphs  and  sylphs 
had  been  painted  after  a  fashion. 

On  the  right  and  left  were  two  long  panels,  bearing 
the  inscriptions,  Miisic^  Drama.  Under  these  headings 
came  some  names,  five  on  either  side  :  Shakespeare, 
Dante,  Milton,  Moliere,  and  Corneille  on  the  right-hand 
panel ;  Beethoven,  Berlioz,  Wagner,  Rossini,  and  Verdi 
on  the  left-hand  one. 

I  went  with  my  manager  in  the  afterneion  to  see  the 
hall.  The  proprietor  happened  to  be  there.  When  he 
had  a  spare  moment,  it  appeared,  he  came  there  to  sit 
and' contemplate  his  handiwork.  For  it  was  of  his  crea- 
tion, this  Lyric  Hall ;  it  was  he  who  had  built  it :  he 
who  had  suggested  the  decorations  and  the  inscriptions. 
The  whole  thing  had  sprung  from  his  own  brain,  and  he 
was  not  a  little  proud  of  it. 


JOHN    HULL    .V    CO.  97 

I  went  up  to  him. 

"  Allow  me,"  I  said,  **  to  thank  you  for  what  you  have 
done  for  France.  You  wished  to  choose  fiv^e  of  the 
greatest  dramatic  poets  of  the  world,  and  you  have 
giveix  a  place  to  two  French  ones." 

"  How  do  you  make  that  out  ? "  he  responded. 
"  Shakespeare  is  English,  Dante  Italian,  Milton  Eng- 
lish, Moliar  French,  and  Cornhill  Spanish.  That  makes 
only  one  Frenchman." 

I  kept  my  countenance.  Did  not  the  Cid  make  con- 
quests after  his  death?  He  had  perhaps  acquired  Cor- 
neille  for  Spain  in  this  little  African  town. 

"  I  think  you  are  wrong,"  I  ventured  timidly,  "  if  I 
maybe  so  bold  as  to  advance  an  opinion  after  yours." 

"Oh,"  said  he,  ''you  may  be  mistaken,  like  other 
people." 

*'  Certainly ;  but  that  which  gives  a  little  weight  to  my 
opinion  is  that  I  was  born  a  few  miles  from  Corneille's 
native  town." 

The  proprietor  of  the  Lyric  Hall  said  no  more,  and  went 
away.     That  evening,  after  the  lecture,  he  came  to  me. 

"You  are  right,"  he  said;  ''  Cornhill  vj^ls  not  Spanish, 
he  was  French.  I  went  to  the  public  library,  and  I 
found  that  Cornhill  \\?i's  born  at  Roiling 

"At  Rouen  ;  if  you  will  excuse  my  pronunciation." 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  that  is  very  annoying,  for  now  I 
must  take  out  his  name  from  my  list." 

"  Oh,  do  not  do  that  I"  I  cried. 

"  I  must,"  he  replied,  with  a  sad  shake  of  the  head. 

"  Why  ?  " 

"Why?  Why,  I  wish  to  be  impartial  and  fair  to  all 
the  nations." 


98  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

"  You  arc  rij^ht,  and  I  have  no  more  to  say." 

It  was  difficult  to  keep  serious;  but  I  am  proud  of 
the  look  of  submission  with  which  I  accepted  the  sup- 
pression of  Corneille. 

"  And  now,"  said  the  owner  of  the  Lyric  Hall,  "  I 
must  find  another  name  to  replace  Cornhiirs.  Have 
you  any  to  suggest  ?  A  German,  for  instance.  Has 
Germany  produced  any  poet  fit  to  figure  on  my 
list  ?  " 

I  was  on  the  point  of  suggesting  that  Germany  would 
be  worthily  represented  by  Goethe.  "  Nonsense  I"  I  said 
to  myself.  "  Why  should  I  render  this  service  to  Ger- 
many?    No  Goethe,  no  Schiller,  no  German." 

**  If  I  were  you,"  I  said,  "  I  would  put  a  Greek.  What 
would  you  say  to  Sophocles  ?  " 

"  Is  he  good  ?  " 

*'  He  was.     He  wrote  a  few  good  things." 

"  Is  he  dead  ?  " 

"  Yes,  he  died  about  two  thousand  three  hundred 
years  ago." 

"  Then  he's  one  of  the  ancients?" 

"  Quite  antique." 

"  You  guarantee  he  is  good  ?  " 

"  Yes,  as  long  as  the  world  lasts." 

The  questioner  thanked  me,  shook  hands,  and  went 
away. 

If  ever  you  go  to  the  little  town  of  B.  you  will  see 
on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  scene,  in  the  Lyric  Hall, 
under  the  inscription  Drama^  the  five  following  names : 
Sophocles,  Shakespeare,  Dante,  Milton,  and  Moliere. 

It  was  I,  too,  who  caused  the  grave  accent  to  be  put 
over  the  name  of  the  great  French  poet.     If  I  did  not 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  99 

succeed  in  keeping  the  name  of  Corneille,  at  any  rate 
I  was  able  to  get  that  of  Mohere  spelled  correctly. 

For  a  finish,  allow  me  to  give  you  an  amusing  sample 
of  colonial  sans  gene. 

It  was  in  the  coquettish  town  of  Durban  (Natal),  in 
the  month  of  June,  1893.  I  was  to  give  a  lecture  on 
"  Her  Royal  Highness,  Woman,"  one  evening,  in  the 
Theatre  Royal.  My  manager,  profiting  by  the  subject 
to  do  a  politeness  to  the  pupils  of  a  large  college  for 
girls,  presented  himself  in  the  afternoon  at  the  college, 
and,  asking  to  see  the  principal,  offered  to  put  several 
dress-circle  seats  at  her  disposal  at  half  price.  As  he 
was  leaving,  he  further  said,  "  If  you  desire  that  the 
young  ladies  should  be  accompanied,  I  shall  be  happy 
to  admit  the  governesses  as  friends,"  which,  in  theatri- 
cal parlance,  means  gratis. 

The  principal  thanked  my  manager,  and  accepted  his 
polite  orfer. 

On  the  evening  of  the  lecture,  there  arrived  from  the 
college  yj7/^r  pupils  and  eleven  governesses. 

A  few  days  later,  having  heard  that  I  had  related  the 
anecdote  in  public,  the  lady  principal  was  good  enough 
to  write  and  explain  the  matter.  The  letter  showed 
good  taste.  My  manager,  it  appeared,  had  made  the 
ofTcr  too  late  ;  she  had  not  had  time  to  mention  the  thing 
to  her  pupils,  otherwise  she  could  have  sent  many  more. 

Very  good  ;  but  she  had  had  time  to  mention  it  to 
the  governesses. 

After  all,  dear  madam,  let  us  have  no  excuses,  I  beg ; 
first,  because  I  strongly  suspect  my  manager  to  have 
been  actuated  by  a  feeling  of  business,  and  not  of  philan- 
thropy.    Philanthropy  is  scarcely  in  the  manager's  line. 


lOO 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


Besides,  dear  madam,  that  is  how  the  British  Empire 
was  made,  as  we  all  know. 

^  One  may  say  of  John  Bull,  Junior,  as  of  John  Bull, 
Senior : 


'*Laissez  ltd  prendre  utipted  chcz  vous, 
II  en  aura  bientot  prts  quatre  I  " 


— and  even  eleven. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Curse  of  the  Colonies— A  Perfect  Gentleman — A  Town 
Full  of  Animation — A  Drunkard  Begs  Me  to  Give  the  Au- 
dience a  Lecture  on  Waterloo — A  Jolly  Fellow — Pater  Fam- 
ilias  on  the  Spree — An  Ingenious  Drunkard — Great  Feats 
— Taverns  and  Teetotalers — Why  there  are  No  Cafes  in  the 
Colonies — A  Philosopher — Why  a  Young  English  Girl  Could 
not  get  Engaged. 

In  Australia  drink  is  the  panacea  against  the  dullness 
of  existence,  and  drunkenness  in  most  classes  of  colonial 
society  is  an  evil  that  is  gnawing  at  the  vitals  of  the 
country — a  national  vice.  Not  the  drunkenness  that 
begets  gaiety,  but  a  dull  and  deadly  habit  which  has 
become  second  nature,  and  is  therefore  incurable  and 
repulsive.* 

I  was  lunching  one  day  in  the  club  of  a  large  city, 
the  members  of  which  belong  to  the  best  society  of  the 
place.  A  gentleman,  still  young  and  of  a  decidedly 
distinguished  appearance,  was  sitting  at  a  neighboring 
table.  When  I  had  finished  eating  he  rose  and  came 
and  sat  near  me. 

"  I  have  no  need  of  an  introduction,"  he  said,  "  since 
we  are  both  members  of  the  same  club.  Let  me  tell 
you  how  pleased  I  am  to  make  your  acquaintance  and  to 
shake  hands  with  you.     I  have  been  reading  the  accounts 

*  I  see  by  a  book  of  statistics  that  the  sum  spent  every  ten  years 
in  drink  is  equal  to  the  sum  represented  by  all  the  gold,  iron  and 
coal  produced  by  the  country  in  fifty  years. 

lOI 


I02  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

of  your  lectures  in  the  papers,  and  I  rej^ret  very  much 
not  being  able  to  go  to  hear  them." 

"  Your  occupation,  no  doubt,  takes  up  all  your  even- 
ings ?  "  I  suggested. 

"  Yes,  alas,"  said  he,  half  sad,  half  smiling.  "  To  tell 
you  the  truth,  I  am  drunk  every  evening  from  seven 
o'clock." 

Drunkenness  of  that  description  is  so  repulsive  to  me 
that  I  forthwith  left  the  dining-room. 

In  the  smoke-room  I  recognized  a  friend  and  went  to 
join  him. 

"  Who  is  that  individual  ? "  I  asked,  indicating  my 
interlocutor,  who  had  just  come  in. 

"  Oh,"  said  he,  "  a  charming  fellow,  very  good  com- 
pany, one  of  the  foremost  merchants  of  the  town." 

**  I  am  sorry  to  hear  it,"  I  replied,  and  the  conversa- 
tion went  no  further. 

I  remember,  one  night  in  Sydney,  being  interrupted 
in  the  middle  of  my  lecture  on  the  English.  At  the 
close  of  the  proceedings  a  man  in  evening  dress  pre- 
sented himself  in  the  little  green-room  behind  the  plat- 
form. 

"  I  have  come  to  apologize,"  he  said.  "  It  was  I  who 
interrupted  you.  I  had  misunderstood  what  you  said, 
and  I  thought  I  ought  to  protest." 

"  No  need  to  offer  excuses,  my  dear  sir,"  I  replied. 
"  First  of  all,  I  did  not  in  the  least  know  who  had  inter- 
rupted me,  and,  moreover,  I  never  take  any  notice  of 
interruptions,  which,  I  must  say,  are  extremely  rare." 

'^  You  are  quite  right.  Besides,"  he  added,  tapping 
me  on  the  shoulder,  "  do  not  bear  me  ill-will,  for,  as  you 
see,  I  am  as  tipsy  as  Bacchus." 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  I03 

Indeed  he  was,  and  very  proud  he  appeared  to  be  of  it. 

He  was  a  captain  in  the  army. 

In  the  town  of  X.  (Victoria)  I  had  occasion  to  go  and 
see  the  mayor.  I  found  him  tipsy.  On  leaving  his 
presence  I  went  to  the  office  of  the  town  clerk.  He  was 
tipsy.  From  there  my  manager  and  I  went  to  call  upon 
the  director  of  the  principal  bank.  He  was  tipsy.  The 
proprietor  of  the  hotel  where  I  was  staying  was  in  bed, 
suffering  from  delirium  tremens.  The  same  night,  at 
my  lecture,  the  police  had  to  eject  from  the  front  seats 
two  individuals  who,  by  their  conduct,  were  preventing 
the  audience  from  following  me.  One  was  a  prominent 
person  in  the  town,  and  the  other  was  the  worthy  repre- 
sentative of  the  district  in  Parliament. 

In  the  afternoon,  about  five  o'clock,  I  went  to  the 
club  of  the  town. 

"What  are  you  going  to  have?"  asked  some  of  the 
members  of  the  club  who  happened  to  be  there. 

"  Can  I  have  some  tea  ?  " 

"  Some  WHAT  ?  "  cried  they,  staring  in  amazement  at 
me,  as  if  to  ask  what  kind  of  stuff  I  was  made  of. 

"  Some  tea,"  I  repeated,  smiling. 

"  My  dear  sir,  I  don't  think  we  keep  the  article  on 
the  premises." 

"And  if  we  have  it,"  said  another,  laughing  heartily, 
"  I  don't  believe  there  is  anyone  here  who  knows  how 
to  make  it." 

Several  other  members  dropped  in.  The  thing  was 
told  as  a  great  joke,  and  I  was  surrounded  and  viev/ed 
as  a  curious  animal.  Stupefaction  was  stamped  on  all 
the  faces. 

That    evening,  after  my  lecture,    I  returned  to  the 


104  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

club  and  regained  the  esteem  of  my  amiable  hosts  by 
ordering  something  stronger  than  tea.  I  must  say,  how- 
ever, that  very  few  of  them  w^ere  in  a  state  to  discern 
clearly  vdiat  the  glass  contained. 

Now  see  the  pendant  of  this  picture,  and  make  your 
own  comments. 

The  following  incident  happened  in  the  same  inter- 
esting little  town  of  X. 

A  few  days  before  my  arrival  my  manager's  secretary 
had  come  to  X.  to  see  the  posters  put  up  and  make  the 
necessary  preparations  for  our  arrival.  He  went  to  the 
bill-poster  and  gave  him  the  order. 

**  Before  accepting  the  work,"  said  the  man,  **  I  must 
know  whether  this  Frenchman's  lectures  are  moral,  and 
whether  there  is  to  be  any  music.  Music,  sir,  is,  like  the 
theatre,  one  of  Satan's  snares.'* 

Our  agent  assured  him  that  there  would  be  no  music, 
and  that  he  could  stick  the  bills  in  all  security. 

On  the  day  of  the  lecture  my  manager,  whom  the  in- 
cident had  greatly  amused,  offered  the  man  a  ticket  to 
go  and  hear  me. 

"I  should  like  very  much  to  go,"  said  he,  "but  I 
could  not  set  foot  inside  the  hall  before  knowing  whether 
my  master  could  go  with  me." 

"  Oh,  that  is  all  right,"  said  my  manager.  *'  I  will  give 
you  another  ticket  for  your  master.    What  is  he  called  ?" 

*'  His  name  is  Jesus  Christ,  sir,"  replied  the  bill-poster, 
drawing  himself  up. 

You  may  imagine  the  look  of  his  interlocutor. 

This  is  the  Anglo-Saxon  potion  that  one  is  obliged  to 
swallow  in  every  corner  of  the  globe,  and  these  are  the 
people  who  reproach  the   French  with  their  gaiety,  I 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  IO5 

had  almost  said  their  happiness,  and  who  in  the  way 
of  distractions  have,  as  Sydney  Smith  says,  discovered 
only  two  things,  vice  and  religion. 

Occasionally  the  colonial  drunkard  strikes  a  very 
comic  note. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  one  in  Bendigo,  who,  installed 
in  one  of  the  foremost  seats,  shouted  at  me  from  his 
place : 

"  Leave  John  Bull  alone,  you  beggar,  and  give  us  a 
lecture  on  Waterloo  !  " 

As  the  subject  announced  for  that  night's  talk  wa^^^^ 
not  Waterloo,  and  one  must  never  change  one's  subject 
without  giving  due  notice  to  the  public,  it  was  out  of 
my  power  to  oblige  this  comical  drunkard.  But,  as  he 
insisted,  and  the  persuasion  of  his  neighbors  had  not 
a  quieting  effect  upon  him,  it  became  necessary  to  get 
a  policeman.  He  allowed  himself  to  be  led  off  without 
resistance.  However,  when  about  half  way  to  the  door, 
he  wheeled  round  toward  the  audience,  and  shouted  : 

'*  I  tell  you  the  man's  a  fool.  He  calls  himself  a 
Frenchman,  and  he  can't  give  us  a  lecture  on  Waterloo. 
He'll  make  no  money  in  Australia,  take  my  word  for  it." 

So  saying,  he  was  led  out  amid  the  frantic  applause 
of  the  audience,  who  had  seized  the  humor  of  the  situa- 
tion. 

And  here  a  striking  contrast  may  be  noted.  When  a 
Frenchman  is  drunk,  he  is  generally  socialistic,  anarchi- 
cal, revolutionary,  and  he  raves  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
"  Down  with  all  tyrants  !  "  When  the  Englishman  is  in 
his  cups  he  grows  conservative  and  jingoistic.  He  will 
call  up  the  nations  to  single  combat,  and  if  Mr.  Glad- 


I06  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

stone  were  to  fall  into  his  hands  he  would  make  short 
work  of  him.  "  VVa'arloo  "  seems  to  be  still  the  watch- 
word of  quarrelsome  Anglo-Saxon  drunkardi. 

Drunkenness  does  not  make  the  Australian  ashamed, 
no  matter  to  what  grade  of  society  he  belongs. 

I  have  seen  men,  scarcely  able  to  stand  upon  their 
legs,  enter  a  theatre  or  a  concert-room  with  their  wives 
and  daughters.  Some  were  noisy,  and  annoyed  their 
neighbors ;  others  went  to  sleep  and  were  comparative- 
ly inoffensive. 

In  a  very  well-appointed  house  I  heard  a  man  at 
table,  in  the  presence  of  his  wife  and  children,  laugh- 
ingly relate  how  he  had  been  led  home  from  his  club 
the  preceding  night  by  two  friends,  and  put  to  bed  with 
the  greatest  difficulty.  His  wife  tried  to  smile  at  the 
description,  and  the  young  girls  pretended  not  to  be 
listening. 

In  a  town  in  New  South  Wales,  a  notability  of  the 
district  tried  to  insist  on  preceding  me  on  the  platform, 
in  order  to  make  a  speech  and  present  me  to  the  audi- 
ence. He  was  perfectly  drunk,  and  I  had  the  greatest 
trouble  to  get  him  to  go  away. 

In  P>ance,  a  man  who  finds  himself  overcome  by 
drink  hides  himself.  In  the  Colonies  he  parades  his 
state,  and  does  not  mind  showing  himself  in  public  with 
his  family.  If  he  proves  too  noisy,  his  wife  takes  him 
home,  to  save  the  policeman  the  trouble.  And  when 
his  club-mates  see  him  depart,  they  merely  say  to  them- 
selves : 

"  Poor  old  Dick  !  he  has  had  a  drop  too  much !  Good 
fellow,  Dick !  fond  of  his  glass — a  jolly  good  fellow, 
capital  fellow ! " 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  107 

Not  only  does  the  drunkard  think  himself  fit  to  go  to 
entertainments,  but  he  thmks  himself  fit  to  entertain. 

I  was  once  invited  to  supper  by  a  rich  squatter,  whom 
a  policeman  had  been  obliged  to  remove  from  the  the- 
atre in  the  middle  of  my  lecture.  On  getting  to  the 
hotel,  this  ** jolly  fellow"  had  taken  a  short  nap,  and. 
feeling  a  little  sobered,  sent  word,  when  he  heard  that 
I  had  returned  from  the  theatre,  to  say  that  he  and  his 
wife  would  be  delighted  if  I  would  sup  with  them  in 
their  apartment.  We  were  in  the  same  hotel.  The  in- 
cident was  droll,  and  the  situation  rather  piquant ;  I 
accepted.  He  confided  to  me  that  he  had  driven  fifty 
miles  to  come  to  the  lecture,  and  he  overpowered  me 
with  compliments,  punctuated  with  tipsy  hiccoughs.  I 
believe  he  even  had  the  audacity  to  tell  me  how  much 
the  lecture  had  interested  and  amused  him. 

He  appeared  to  have  clean  forgotten  the  little  scene 
in  which  he  had  played  a  leading  role  at  the  theatre. 
But  his  wife  could  certainly  not  have  forgotten  it,  yet 
she  was  there  at  supper,  unconcerned,  letting  him 
maunder  and  drivel,  and  dishonor  himself.  We  drank 
champagne  at  supper,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  my 
host  was  sleeping  heavily  in  an  armchair.  Not  an  at- 
tempt at  excuses  on  the  part  of  his  wife,  who  seemed 
to  look  upon  the  situation  as  quite  natural,  and,  for 
that  matter,  had  probab'y  seen  many  similar  ones. 

Next  morning,  Sunday,  at  eleven  o'clock,  I  saw  the 
squatter  and  his  wife  on  their  way  to  church,  doubtless 
to  pray  and  sing  hymns  in  Protestant  fashion. 

At  five,  that  afternoon,  my  late  host  was  dead 
drunk. 

I  have  seen  in  the  hotels  of  small  towns,  young  men, 


I08  JDIIN    BULL    &    CO. 

sons  of  well-to-do  squatters,  come  in  from  the  stations 
around  to  shake  off  the  dullness  of  the  Bush  and  amuse 
themselves  in  the  town.  But  what  amusements  could 
they  expect  to  find  ?  Intellectual  or  artistic  ones,  none. 
They  fell  back  on  whiskey,  and  went  in  for  a  bout  of 
drinking,  installed  themselves  at  the  hotel,  and  for  days 
together  were  hardly  an  hour  sober. 

It  is  not  uncommon  in  Australia  to  see  a  young  man 
arrive  in  a  town,  hand  over  a  cheque  for  fifty  or  sixty 
pounds  to  the  keeper  of  some  hotel,  saying  to  him  : 

'*  Let  me  have  as  much  drink  as  I  want.  When  I 
have  drunk  my  cheque,  let  me  know,  and  I  will  go 
home." 

At  Grafton,  a  few  leagues  from  the  tropics,  I  saw  an 
old  farmer,  eighty-four  years  of  age,  who  had  come  into 
the  town  to  pass  a  few  days  at  the  hotel  and  be  drunk 
from  morning  to  night.  His  wife  had  come  with  him 
to  put  him  to  bed  when  necessary,  and  apply  something 
cool  to  his  head. 

Drunkenness  in  cold  climates  is  comprehensible, 
while  reprehensible  ;  it  has  a  pretext ;  but  in  hot  cli- 
mates, in  the  tropics  almost,  cnmii — the  absence  of  so- 
cial, artistic,  or  intellectual  distractions — that  is  the  only 
possible  explanation. 

I  have  seen  still  better  than  all  this.  I  saw  with  my 
own  eyes  the  following  scene  : 

An  individual  of  about  forty,  well  dressed,  with 
drawn  face,  haggard  eyes,  and  the  sad  and  sinister  ex- 
pression of  a  Chinaman  in  an  opium  den,  presented 
himself  at  nine  in  the  morning  at  the  private  bar  of  the 
hotel  which  I  had  put  up  at  in  a  town  on  the  banks  of 
the  Clarence  River.     He  lays  down   sixpence,  and  is 


JOHN     HULL    &    CO.  IO9 

served  with  a  glass  of  whiskey.  He  adds  a  Httle 
water,  with  a  shaking  hand  carries  it  to  his  hps,  and  at 
one  draft  swallows  the  contents.  Then  silent>  and  with- 
out lifting  his  dull,  staring  eyes  from  the  ground,  he 
goes  away.  At  the  expiration  of  half  an  hour,  he  re- 
turns and  the  operation  is  repeated.  Half  an  hour  later 
he  returns  again.  The  hand  trembles  more  and  more 
and  seems  to  refuse  to  lend  itself  any  longer  to  the 
task.  The  hotel-keeper,  who  had  seen  me  watch  the 
scene,  said  : 

**  In  the  intervals  he  goes  to  another  hotel  and  gets 
drink.  If  you  have  nothing  particular  to  do,  remain 
where  you  are  and  you  will  see  something  that  will  re- 
pay you  for  your  trouble." 

At  about  half-past  twelve,  the  poor  wretch  appeared 
at  the  bar  for  the  seventh  time.  The  sixpence  is 
planked  down  ;  the  glass  is  filled.  The  hand  goes  to  the 
glass,  but  has  no  longer  power  to  take  it.  After  many 
efforts,  however,  the  glass  is  grasped,  but  the  drink  can- 
not be  conveyed  to  the  mouth.  The  drunkard  darts  a 
furtive  glance  to  right  and  left.  No  one  is  looking. 
He  draws  a  long  silk  handkerchief  from  his  pocket,  and 
passes  it  around  his  neck.  With  his  two  hands  he  holds 
the  two  extremities.  In  his  right  hand  he  grasps  the 
glass,  and,  drawing  the  end  which  is  in  his  left  hand,  the 
ingenious  drunkard  makes  a  pulley  of  the  handkerchief, 
and  thus  succeeds  in  conveying  the  whiskey  to  his  lips. 
He  puts  down  the  glass,  drags  himself  to  the  door,  and 
edging  along  by  the  walls,  he  finds  his  way  home  to  get 
a  few  hours'  repose. 

"  This  thing  has  been  going  on  for  three  years,"  said 
the   landlord,  "  but   the   pulley  trick  he  only  took  up  a 


no  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

month  ago  ;  it  is  the  hist  stage.  Soon  he  will  no  longer 
be  able  to  swallow,  and  deliriuvi  tremens  will  carry  him 
off." 

"Well,"  I  replied,  '''ban  voyage !     Good  riddance!" 

I  think  that  is  the  most  repulsive  sight  that  I  have 
seen  in  all  my  travels ;  the  look  in  that  man's  face  will 
never  be  effaced  from  my  memory. 

Perhaps  you  will  ask  at  what  age  the  young  man  of 
the  Colonies  begins  to  get  drunk. 

On  board  the  boat  which  brought  me  from  Africa  to 
Europe  we  had  a  young  man  of  nineteen,  who  was  help- 
lessly drunk  every  night  from  seven  o'clock. 

After  fourteen  days'  steaming  we  arrived  at  Madeira, 
where  we  all  w^ent  ashore.  Do  you  think  the  young  sot 
made  use  of  the  seven  or  eight  hours  that  the  steamer 
stopped,  to  explore  every  corner  of  the  curious,  pictur- 
esque old  town  ?  Do  you  think  he  took  a  drive  to  the 
convent,  from  whence  a  really  charming  view  is  to  be 
had  ?  No,  he  went  direct  to  a  low  tavern,  and  had  to 
be  led,  or  rather  carried  back  to  the  ship  like  a  pig,  if  I 
may  use  such  an  expression  without  too  greatly  insult- 
ing the  porcine  race. 

After  the  scenes  described  above,  I  beg  the  reader  to 
spare  me  the  task  of  recounting  the  drunken  scenes  I 
might  give  him,  taken  from  the  lower  classes. 

In  many  a  community  in  the  far  West,  labor  is  made 
compulsory,  and  the  drunkard  who  does  not  correct 
himself  after  being  warned,  is  ignominiously  driven 
from  the  town  by  his  neighbors. 

The  small  centres  of  population  in  America  do  not 
offer  more  distractions  than  the  townships  of  Australia, 
and   yet    I   have   paid   three   long  visits   to  the  United 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  Ill 

States  without  seeing  any  drunkenness  unless  it  be  in 
the  largo  cities. 

Australia  is  suffering  from  two  scourges — drink  and 
teetotalism.  The  first  brutalizes,the  second  effeminates. 
It  is  curious  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  only  goes  in  for  ex- 
tremes, and  has  no  moderation. 

Because  wine  intoxicates,  total  abstinence  societies 
suppress  wine.     Why  not  man  ? 

But,  as  the  good  Chinese  proverb  has  it,  it  is  not  wine 
that  makes  drunk,  but  vice.  Suppress  vice,  but  not 
wine. 

Unhappily,  the  excellent  colonial  wines  made  in  Aus- 
tralia and  South  Africa  are  not  within  the  reach  of  the 
bulk  of  the  people.  Picture  to  yourself  a  wine-growing 
country  w  here  it  is  impossible  to  procure  a  bottle  of 
wine  that  is  grown  on  the  spot  for  less  than  three  or 
four  shillings — nay,  in  many  places  seven  or  eight. 
The  consequence  is,  that  with  the  exception  of  the 
large  hotels  in  the  big  cities,  you  never  see  a  dining- 
room  where  wine  is  drunk.  The  bulk  of  the  people 
drink  tea,  which  destroys  their  stomach,  and  whiskey, 
which  destroys  the  rest.  Weak  wine  and  water,  that 
healthful  and  refreshing  drink  of  the  French  lower  and 
middle  classes,  is  unknown.  It  seems  as  if  Anglo-Saxon 
throats  demanded  something  that  burns  or  rasps. 

I  said  one  day  to  a  Melbourne  friend :  "  How  is  it 
that  here,  in  this  genial  climate,  where  the  people  should 
spend  half  their  leisure  time  out  of  doors,  you  have 
gone  in  for  public-houses,  those  ignoble  English  dens 
in  which  people  must  take  their  drink  standing,  and  in 
a  disgusting  atmosphere  reeking  of  alcohol  and  tobacco 
smoke  ?     Why,  in  the  parks  and  great  thoroughfares  oi 


112  JOHN     niLL    ik    CO. 

the  town,  did  you  not  have  pretty  cafes  as  we  have  on 
the  Continent  in  Europe,  places  where  you  can  quietly 
quench  your  thirst,  and  where  you  may  allow  yourself 
the  luxury  of  taking  your  wife  or  daughter  ?  " 

Why  not  ?  Of  course  I  know  why  not.  Because,  in  the 
open-air  cafes  people  are  seen,  whereas  in  public-houses 
people  are  hidden  from  view.  The  reason  that  he  gave 
me  is  much  less  flattering  for  the  Anglo-Saxon  race 
than  mine  is. 

"  My  dear  sir,"  he  said  to  me,  "  if  you  only  consider 
the  drunkenness  that  already  exists  (and  w^hich,  unhap- 
pily, you  do  not  at  all  exaggerate),  although  men  are 
obliged  to  take  their  drink  standing,  just  imagine  what 
it  would  be  if  they  could  take  it  sitting  at  their  ease." 

Yet  this  is  that  same  Anglo-Saxon  race  which  per- 
fectly deafens  us  with  the  sound  of  its  own  praises,  and 
declares  that  its  greatest  virtue  is  self-control.  Curious 
race,  that  can  do  nothing  moderately,  and  which  sees 
no  other  means  for  suppressing  drunkenness  than  that 
of  keeping  the  people  without  decent  drinking  places, 
and  trying  to  force  them  to  drink  only  water ! 

Two  little  reminiscences  to  finish  with. 

Every  one  knows  that  in  the  Colonies,  as  in  America, 
there  have  been  great  rushes  to  certain  localities  in  the 
hope  of  finding  gold,  silver,  or  some  other  ore.  A  mere 
rumor  has  often  caused  rushes  of  this  kind.  In  hot  haste 
tents,  huts  and  houses  were  put  up.  The  feverish  crowd 
sought  for  ore  ;  they  found  it  for  awhile  ;  then  the  vein 
disappeared,  and  so,  gradually,  did  they  also,  leaving  be- 
hind a  few  poor  wretches  who  had  no  means  of  getting 
away. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  II3 

The  coach  I  was  one  day  traveling  in  drew  up  by  the 
way  at  a  hotel  in  one  of  these  forsaken  towns  to  allow 
the  passengers  to  take  food.  Around  and  about  that 
hotel  the  most  complete  desolation  reigned. 

"  How  do  you  manage  to  make  a  living  here  }  "  I 
asked  the  proprietor  of  the  house.  *'  The  place  seems  to 
be  no  longer  inhabited." 

"  Well,  I  have  the  passengers  of  the  coach  three  times 
a  week,  and  the  handful  of  people  who  were  not  able 
to  get  away  when  the  stampede  took  place,  come 
to  me." 

"But  what  do  they  do  in  this  God -forsaken  des- 
ert ?  " 

"  Oh,  they  drink,  and  that  keeps  me  going." 

T/uy  drink ^  and  that  keeps  vie  going/  Wh^^^  pathos, 
what  tragedy  in  those  few  words ! 

We  had,  on  board  a  boat  by  which  I  traveled,  a  rich 
Englishman  who  passes  most  of  his  life  at  sea.  Did  he 
travel  for  his  own  pleasure  or  for  the  tranquillity  of  his 
family  ?  Traveling  on  the  ocean  is  one  way  of  passing 
the  time,  and  English  people  often  have  funny  ideas  of 
enjoyment.  They  take  their  pleasures  sadly.  I  really 
think,  however,  that  this  man's  presence  on  board  must 
have  seriously  contributed  to  the  comfort  of  several 
people  on  land. 

From  nine  o'clock  each  morning  he  was  drunk,  and 
never,  during  the  whole  voyage  of  nineteen  days,  did  I 
for  one  moment  see  him  in  a  state  to  converse,  much 
less  discuss  anything  with  anyone  on  board. 

This  drunkard  was  accompanied  by  his  daughter,  a 
giddy  girl,  who  yet  appeared  to  be  fond  of  her  father, 
and  lavished  pretty  attentions  on  him.     The  rest  of  her 


114  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

time  was  filled  up  with  flirtations  with  one  of  the  young 
men  on  board.  At  the  end  of  ten  days  the  flirtation 
took  a  serious  turn,  and  the  young  couple  announced 
themselves  engaged. 

It  was  the  ninth  time  the  young  girl  had  made  the 
trip  with  her  father,  and  I  think  it  was  also  the  ninth 
time  that  she  had  been  engaged.  In  England  this  kind 
of  thing  is  tolerated  ;  nay,  better  than  that,  there  are 
Englishmen  who  only  love  a  woman  when  they  know 
that  she  has  been  loved  by  others.  I  know  one  who  is 
very  proud  to  say,  "  My  wife  was  engaged,  first  and  last, 
to  half  the  young  men  of  the  town,  but  it  was  I  who 
carried  the  day  after  all,  and  married  her." 

On  board  ship  one  quickly  makes  acquaintance  ;  fa- 
miliarity begins  to  reign  when  you  have  been  a  day  on 
the  ocean,  gossiping  starts,  and  everyone  knows  all 
about  everyone  else. 

One  fine  morning  the  young  girl  in  question  came  to 
sit  near  me  on  deck  and  said,  laughing  heartily  as  if  she 
were  only  telling  a  good  joke  : 

"  I  have  got  engaged  to  Mr.  N." 

"  I  congratulate  you  with  all  my  heart,"  I  rejoined, 
with  anything  but  a  serious  look. 

"  There  is  only  one  obstacle  to  surmount,"  said  she, 
"  and  that  is  the  getting  my  father's  consent." 

"  Oh,"  I  exclaimed,  "  you  are  afraid  he  will  refuse  ?  " 

"  Oh,  not  at  all ;  it  is  not  that,  but  for  the  consent  to 
have  any  value,  I   must  try  and  obtain  it  when  he  —  " 

"  When  papa  is  responsible  for  his  words,"  I  put  in 
quickly,  so  as  to  spare  the  poor  girl  the  annoyance  of 
having  to  finish  the  sentence. 

"  That  is  just  the  difficulty,"  she  said,  sighing. 


^tt 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  II5 

The  poor  young  girl  arrived  at  port  without  having 
been  able  to  surmount  the  difficulty.  Her  father  was 
drunk  when  he  embarked,  and,  constant  in  his  affections, 
he  was  drunk  when  he  landed. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

Types — Caprices  of  Nature — Men  and  Women — Precocious 
Children — Prehistoric  Dress — Timidity  of  the  Women — I 
Shock  Some  Tasmanian  Ladies — Anglo-Saxon  Contrasts. 

Let  us  take  a  glance  at  the  strange  types  and  freaks 
of  nature  that  one  meets  with  in  the  Colonies,  and  see 
what  a  topsy-turvy  world  it  is. 

The  kangaroo  springs  by  means  of  its  two  hind  legs, 
and  supports  itself  on  its  tail,  which  serves  as  a  helm. 
There  are  Australian  animals  that  fly  without  having  any 
wings,  and  the  Australian  swan  is  black.  Trees  change 
their  bark  ev^ery  year,  while  their  leaves  change  not. 
You  find  in  this  curious  country  pears  with  their  eatable 
part  encased  in  a  hard  wooden  rind,  cherries  with  the 
stone  outside,  and  trees  with  their  flowers  and  seeds 
growing  in  the  leaves.  Other  trees  there  are,  the  poli- 
tician being  the  chief,  which  flower  superbly  and  give 
great  promise  of  fair  fruit,  but  when  fruiting  time  comes 
yield  mostly  husks. 

In  South  Africa,  too,  there  are  strange  phenomena  to 
be  seen.  Water  is  found  on  the  summits  of  the  hills  in- 
stead of  in  the  valleys.  It  is  in  the  valleys  that  you  feel 
the  cold  ;  on  the  mountains  you  feel  the  heat.  If  you 
are  cold  at  night  open  the  window  ;  if  you  are  too  hot 
by  day,  close  it.  Last,  but  not  least,  all  the  nursemaids 
are  boys. 

There  are  giants  in  these  days — if  you  go  to  Austra- 
lia 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  II7 

!ia  for  them.  At  a  banquet  given  by  the  Mayor  of 
Sydney,  I  found  myself  seated  between  Sir  George 
Dibbs,  Premier  of  New  South  Wales,  and  Sir  Joseph 
Abbot,  the  Speaker  of  the  Legislative  Assembly.  When 
these  men  rose  to  reply  to  the  toast  of  their  health,  the 
first  uplifted  six  feel  three  inches  of  manhood  and  the 
second  six  feet  four.  Both  are  products  of  the  soil, 
superb-looking  men,  giants  in  build.  I  met  with  a  num- 
ber of  others  like  them. 

The  children  are  early  developed.  I  saw  in  all  the 
colonies,  young  girls  of  twelve  and  thirteen  developed 
like  women  of  twenty,  and  showing  sturdy  calves  as  they 
marched  with  straight  and  independent  tread. 

In  Melbourne,  Sidney,  Adelaide  and  all  the  places 
close  to  the  sea,  I  saw  beautiful  women,  clear-complex- 
ioned  and  admirably  formed,  looking  fresh  and  vigor- 
ous. But  when  you  go  north  and  penetrate  into  the  in- 
terior, you  find  many  of  the  faces  looking  yellow  and 
dry  as  parchment.  And  how  could  it  be  expected  that 
the  freshness  and  color  of  youth  would  remain  on  the 
face  of  a  women  when  the  heat  and  the  drought  are 
such  that  the  paint  will  not  remain  on  the  face  of  a 
house  ?  Under  this  burning  sun,  in  this  atmosphere 
that  is  a  stranger  to  humidity,  the  white  skin  turns  brown 
in  no  time.  The  neckand  forehead  get  wrinkled.  Add 
to  this  eyes  that  express  the  weariness  and  dreariness  of 
life  in  the  interior,  a  mouth  that  rarely  laughs  and  that 
has  a  droop  at  the  corners.  The  English  are  not  at  any 
time  a  gay-looking  people,  and  it  is  not  the  monotonous 
existence  of  the  Bush  that  would  be  likely  to  enliven 
them  very  much. 

The  men  are  not  picturesque   in   this   unpicturesque 


Il8  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

country.  In  the  south  of  France,  in  Italy,  in  Spain,  in 
Algeria,  you  may  at  every  turn  meet  with  a  head  worthy 
to  pose  in  an  artist's  studio,  though  belonging  to  a  man 
selling  wares  across  the  counter  of  a  little  shop,  and 
many  more  that  woul^  grace  the  operatic  stage.  In 
England  and  the  Colonies  you  miss  all  that ;  the  types 
are  manufactured  by  the  gross.  The  Bushman  wears 
close-cut  hair,  moustaches,  and  short  whiskers,  lets  his 
arms  hang,  or  carries  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  while  he 
swings  nonchalantly  and  slowly  along  the  road,  a  wea- 
ried look  on  his  face,  his  tall  frame  generally  thin  and 
often  slightly  bent.  It  takes  him  ten  minutes  to  fill  his 
pipe.  He  begins  by  drawing  from  his  pocket  a  cake  of 
tobacco.  Next  he  takes  his  knife  and  slowly  cuts  the 
tobacco  into  thin  shavings.  This  done,  he  puts  knife 
and  cake  of  tobacco  back  into  his  pocket,  and  rolls  the 
tobacco  between  his  hands  for  at  least  five  minutes. 
Time  is  no  object  to  him.  When  the  tobacco  is  almost 
reduced  to  powder,  he  takes  his  pipe,  fills  it  and  puts  it 
in  his  mouth.  Then  he  sets  to  work  to  find  a  match  in 
his  pockets.  It  is  generally  in  the  last.  By  the  time 
the  pipe  is  lit,  the  operation  has  lasted  ten  minutes. 

In  little  out-of-the-way  towns,  as  yet  unconnected 
with  the  great  cities  of  the  Colonies  by  railway  com- 
munication, strange  types  are  to  be  met  with  :  women  of 
fifty  with  their  hair  in  curls,  such  as  the  daughters  of 
Albion  affected  about  sixty  yearj  ago,  with  large- 
brimmed  mushroom  hats,  crinolines  and  polonaises,  walk- 
ing with  modestly  lowered  eyes,  speaking  with  subdued 
voice,  and  almost  ashamed  of  having  spoken  at  all. 

A  traveler  one  day  in  my  hearing  asked  a  lady  of 
aLout  fifty  years  of  age,  who,  like   myself,  was  staying 


JOHN     DULL    &    CO.  1 19 

in  the  hotel  of  a  little  town  in  the  Bush,  if  she  intended 
to  go  and  hear  me  in  the  Tow  n  Hall  that  evening. 

"  I  should  very  much  like  to,"  she  replied,  "  but  I  do 
not  know  any  gentleman  who  could  take  me." 

She  dared    not  venture  alon^. 

I  was  one  day  talking  with  several  Tasmanian  ladies 
in  the  drawing-room  of  an  hotel  in  Launceston.  Tas- 
mania is  perhaps  the  most  rococo  of  all  the  Colonies,  but, 
thanks  to  the  temperate  climate,  its  women  are  remark- 
able for  their  beauty  and  freshness.  Life  in  France 
formed  the  subject  of  the  conversation,  and  speaking  of 
my  own  native  town  I  had  occasion  to  say  that,  among 
my  friends,  there  w^as  an  old  lady,  now  deceased,  whose 
granddaughter  was  a  grandmother.  On  the  last  New 
Year's  Day  she  spent  on  earth,  there  were  five  genera- 
tions of  the  family  at  her  table.  *'  And,"  I  added,  "  if 
my  old  friend  had  only  been  able  to  retard  her  death  by 
three  months,  she  would  have  seen  the  sixth." 

Thereupon  all  the  eyes  were  lowered,  a  good  many 
blushes  arose,  and  I  verily  believe  that  two  or  three 
ladies  tried  to  hide  under  the  table.  I  had  evidently 
created  a  panic.  Great  heavens  !  what  could  I  have  said 
to  cause  it  ?  Later  in  the  evening,  the  eldest  of  the 
party  summoned  courage  enough  to  come  and  confess  to 
me  that  she  thought  I  had  been  a  little  too  free  in  my 
speech. 

"  Oh  !  how?"  I  exclaimed.     "  I  am  eager  to  know." 

"  You  are  forgiven  :  of  course  we  know  you  are  French 
and  you  had  no  intention  of  shocking  us." 

"  But  what  did  I  say  .'*  To  save  my  life,  I  cannot  rec- 
ollect anything  that  could  give  the  slightest  offence." 

"  Well,"  said  she,  lowering  her  voice,  "  you  made  us 


I20  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

all  understand  that  at  the  time  your  old  friend  died,  the 
young  woman  belonging  to  the  fifth  generation  was  en- 
ceinte ^ 

Shocking ! 

Is  it  possible  that  this  is  a  people  who  have  chosen 
for  their  device  Hani  soil  qui  inal y  pense  ? 

The  device  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  ought  to  be  Qiioi 
que  hi  entendras,  ton  jours  nial  y  penseras. 

A  race  made  up  of  the  most  extraordinary  contrasts  : 
a  people  that  can  pray  and  swear  in  one  breath  ;  that 
devotes  its  Sabbaths  to  the  spiritual  and  the  spirituous — 
the  church  service  and  the  hideous  orgie  of  the  tavern. 

In  most  of  the  colonial  museums  the  statues  which 
serve  as  models  for  the  students  are  nude  ;  but  when 
the  hour  for  opening  the  museum  to  the  public  arrives, 
the  superintendent  takes  from  a  cupboard  a  few  fig 
leaves  of  ample  dimensions,  by  means  of  w^hich  he  veils 
the  too  startling  nudities.  As  if  a  statue  could  be  an 
object  of  scandal !  On  the  other  hand,  men  perfectly 
naked  are  to  be  seen  bathing  in  the  rivers,  and  neither 
the  police  nor  the  public  seem  to  be  shocked  at  it.  In 
stations  and  hotels  you  w  ill  see  the  walls  of  certain  places 
covered  with  inscriptions  in  pencil,  such  as,  '*  God  loves 
you,"  "  God  waits  for  you,"  beside  nameless  indecen- 
cies accompanied  by  illustrations  that  would  sicken  the 
soul  of  our  lowest  rough. 

In  your  hotel  you  find  on  the  wall  an  illuminated  card 
bearing  the  words,  "  I  will  lay  me  down  in  peace  and 
take  my  rest,  for  it  is  thou.  Lord,  only  that  makest  me 
to  dwell  in  safety."  Near  it,  another  card  bearing  the 
most  practical  advice,  "  The  proprietor  does  not  hold 
himself  responsible  for  the  loss  of  valuables  left  in  the 


JOHN     BULL    &    CO.  121 

bedrooms,  and  requests  visitors  to  lock  and  bolt  their 
doors  at  night." 

In  the  bedroom  of  a  rich  and  distinguished  English- 
man I  saw  over  the  mantelpiece  three  pictures:  the 
first  was  a  pretty  reproduction  of  Holman  Hunt's  beau- 
tiful picture,  "  The  Light  of  the  World,"  Christ  knock- 
ing at  the  sinner's  door,  with  a  lantern  in  his  hand  ; 
on  either  side  of  this  picture  of  Christ  hung  a  music- 
hall  beauty  in  tights,  and  very  dccolUtcc.  It  was  not 
Christ  between  two  larrons,  but  between  two  liironnes. 

An  Australian,  with  whom  I  was  one  day  talking  on 
matters  theological,  wanted  to  quote  a  text  from  the 
Bible,  which  should  enlighten  the  subject  for  me.  He 
ransacked  his  memory  in  vain  ;  he  could  not  remember 

the  verse.    "  How  is  it  that  I  cannot  recollect  that • 

text  ?  "  exclaimed  my  theologian. 

In  another  line  one  finds  much  the  same  contrasts  in 
Italy.  A  workman  who  enters  a  wine-shop  addresses 
the  keeper  of  it  as  Signor  Padrone^  and  his  waiter  as 
Signor  Priuio ;  but  if  one  or  the  other  of  them  should 
take  it  upon  them  to  contradict  him  on  any  point,  this 
same  workman  begins  such  a  volley  of  abuse  as  would 
make  the  bravest  navvy  quake  in  his  shoes. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

The  Bush — The  Eucalyptus — The  Climate — Description  of  the 
Bush  and  its  Inhabitants — The  Concert  of  the  Bush — The 
Tragedians  and  the  Clowns  of  the  Company — The  Kangaroo 
— The  Workers  and  the  Idlers  of  tlie  Bush — Beggars  on 
Horseback. 

Australia  is  a  vast  eucalyptus  forest,  with  a  super- 
ficial area  about  equal  to  that  of  Europe.  Setting  aside 
Queensland,  where  the  vegetation  is  tropical,  the  euca- 
lyptus is  really  the  only  tree  that  grows  in  these  regions. 
In  certain  parts  it  attains  a  prodigious  height.  I  have 
seen  some  four  hundred  feet  high,  and  I  measured  sev- 
eral that  had  a  circumference  equal  to  that  of  the  fa- 
mous giants  of  California.  The  eucalyptus  leaves  possess 
therapeutic  properties,  which  science  is  engaged  in  uti- 
lizing, and  which  make  Australia  one  of  the  most  healthy 
countries  of  the  world.  To  cure  a  cold  or  to  keep  off 
mosquitoes  it  is  invaluable.  As  a  disinfectant  it  is  with- 
out rival,  and  every  one  knows  how  the  marshy  parts  of 
south  Italy  have  been  made  healthy  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  this  beneficent  tree.  There  are  three  kinds  of 
eucalyptus,  or  gum-tree,  found  in  Australia,  commonly 
called  the  red,  the  blue,  and  the  white  gum.  The  red 
gum  is  very  hard,  and  is  used  for  house-building  and 
furniture,  and  for  railway  sleepers.  The  white  gum  is 
soft,  and  serves  for  little  except  firewood  and  fences. 

From  the  beginning  of  April  to  the  end  of  October 

122 


JOHN     HULL    &    CO.  1 23 

Australia  enjoys  a  magnificent  climate,  but  in  January, 
February,  and  March  the  heat  is  suffocating.  The 
thermometer  varies  between  ninety  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty  in  the  shade,  and  when  the  northwest  wind 
blows  the  atmosphere  becomes  so  frightfully  hot  that  if 
you  were  to  pass  out  of  it  into  the  infernal  regions  you 
would  need  to  take  your  overcoat  with  you. 

But  what  a  weird,  sad-looking  landscape  !  No  bright 
colors.  All  is  dull  and  sombre,  everything  seems  to  be 
drooping  and  mourning.  The  verdure  of  the  soil  and 
of  the  trees  is  more  gray  than  green,  without  any  in- 
tensity of  color,  and  it  never  changes  in  appearance. 

The  eucalyptus  is  not  a  handsome  tree.  The  leaves, 
which  are  long  and  drooping,  half  close  during  the  day, 
and  give  no  shade  ;  the  trunk  peels  every  year,  and  the 
bark  hangs  down  its  sides  in  strips.  The  numerous 
branches  writhe  in  despair  in  all  directions.  You  feel  a 
sentiment  of  sadness  penetrate  you  at  the  sight  of  this 
vegetation,  to  which  nature  has  been  so  niggardly. 

Here  and  there,  about  the  far-stretching  landscape, 
the  gum-trees  have  been  burned,  or  killed  by  means  of 
an  incision  around  the  base  of  the  trunk,  and  the  skele- 
tons are  there  as  in  a  cemetery,  where,  on  each  tomb, 
you  might  behold  a  phantom  stretching  out  a  hundred 
gnarled  arms.  It  is  the  most  lugubrious  scene  possible. 
Further  on,  you  come  to  a  clearing,  where  a  thousand 
gum-trees,  gray  and  dead,  appear  to  be  writhing  on  the 
ground,  and  suggest  the  most  fantastic  shapes  to  the 
mind — twisted  serpents,  crocodiles  lying  in  wait,  gigantic 
spiders,  all  sorts  of  obnoxious  creatures  on  an  ante- 
diluvian scale. 

A  little  further  on  the  Bush  is  on  fire.    Civilized  man 


124  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

is  preparing  to  clear  his  piece  of  land.  In  a  few  years 
a  prosperous  tow  n  may  have  arisen  there.  For  the  pres- 
ent it  is  a  scene  from  the  Inferno. 

With  what  pleasure  you  come  to  a  valley,  at  the  bot- 
tom of  which  runs  a  little  rivulet,  and  where  the  grace- 
ful fronds  of  the  tree  ferns  surmount  warm,  brown,  scaly 
trunks  of  from  seven  to  twelve  feet  high.  The  great 
fronds  of  two  years  back  hang  down  round  the  trunk  in 
golden-brown  beauty,  while  last  year's  growth  forms  a 
dark  green  umbrella  above  them.  At  the  summit, 
rising  straight  in  fresh  new  green,  are  the  fronds  of  the 
year.  Australia,  so  poor  in  trees,  is  rich  in  flowering 
shrubs,  and  in  the  spring  the  grand  crimson  blooms  of 
the  waratah,  and  the  graceful,  golden  branches  of  the 
wattle  do  their  best  to  light  up  and  put  a  little  gaiety 
into  this  scene  of  terrible  solitude. 

And  how  describe  that  profound,  that  solemn  silence? 
I  have  been  told  that  the  Bushman  almost  loses  the  fac- 
ulty of  speech  in  many  instances,  and  it  was  not  at  all 
unusual  to  hear  of  shepherds  having  gone  out  of  their 
minds.  When  one  thinks  of  the  life  these  men  led — 
there  are  fewer  employed  now — it  is  not  wonderful  to 
hear  that  their  brains  gave  way  occasionally.  Miles  from 
any  town,  unvisited  by  any  human  creature  save  the 
man  who  brought  him  rations  from  month  to  month,  and 
whom  he  missed  seeing  if  he  happened  not  to  be  in  his 
hut  when  they  were  brought,  the  shepherd  was  alone  in 
the  solemnity  of  the  Bush,  his  only  living  companions 
the  thousands  of  meek  sheep  and  the  faithful  dog.  The 
cracked  scream  of  the  cockatoo  and  the  heartrending 
note  of  the  crow  the  only  sounds  he  heard  by  day ;  the 
creepy  cry  of  the  morepork  and  the  hoarse  croak  of  the 


JOHN     BULL    &    CO.  12$ 

frog  the  only  good-night  that  ever  greeted  his  ears  as 
he  went  to  rest. 

The  palUike  silence  of  the  Bush  seems  to  have  fallen 
on  even  the  animals.  One  never  hears  the  cattle  low, 
and  a  handful  of  English  sheep  being  driven  to  a  fresh 
pasture  will  make  more  noise  than  thousands  of  Austra- 
lian ones.  You  meet  them  in  droves  of  several  thou- 
sands, you  drive  your  buggy  through  the  crowd,  but  you 
seldom  hear  a  bleat. 

However,  if  you  want  noise,  fire  a  shot  into  the  trees, 
and  you  may  chance  to  disturb  a  colony  of  sulphur- 
crested  cockatoos  who  will  raise  such  a  hubbub  as  will 
make  you  instinctively  put  up  your  hands  to  stop  your 
ears.     A  few  moments,  and  silence  reigns  once  more. 

The  birds  seem  to  do  their  best  to  add  to  the  sadness 
of  the  scene.  The  crow's  note  is  like  the  cry  of  a  lost 
soul,  a  long-drawn,  quavering  utterance  full  of  anguish. 
The  curlew's  shrill  and  plaintive  cry  might  almost  be 
that  of  a  dying  child ;  but  if  you  want  to  hear  a  sound 
that  will  sadden  your  very  soul,  listen  to  the  morepork 
at  night.  Even  the  liquid  and  musical  babble  of  the 
magpies  has  a  tinge  of  sadness. 

Alone,  the  laughing  jackass  reminds  you  that  one 
may  find  gaiety  everywhere,  even  in  the  Bush.  He 
laughs  consumedly,  and  his  Hoo-hoo-hoo-Jwo,  ha-ha-ha-ha 
is  comic  in  the  highest  degree.  When  you  hear  him 
laugh,  you  want  to  laugh  with  him.  This  smallish, 
thick-set  bird  has  a  head  almost  as  large  as  his  body, 
and  a  formidable  beak  with  which  he  attacks  and  de- 
stroys snakes,  so  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  he  is 
held  sacred  by  the  law  of  the  Colonies,  which  forbids 
you  to  shoot  him. 


126  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

Justice  must  be  rendered  to  the  frogs  that  swarm  in 
the  Australian  marshes,  and  add  their  incontestable 
talent  to  the  concert  of  the  Bush.  Some  play  the 
raquette  with  immense  spirit  and  gaiety :  others  twang 
the  banjo  like  the  clevere^  t  dilettante  of  Carolina  or 
Florida. 

With  the  exception  of  the  snakes,  which  sw.rm,  the 
centipedes,  whose  bite  necessitates  the  amputation  of 
the  bitten  member,  and  a  score  of  other  poisonous  in- 
sects, the  Australian  Bush  contains  no  savage  creatures, 
none  even  dangerous. 

The  kangaroo,  the  wallaby,  the  opossum,  the  chief 
denizens  of  the  Bush,  are  all  animals  with  the  soft  gaze 
of  a  gazelle,  and  perfectly  inoffensive ;  even  the  little 
bear  of  the  country,  if  you  take  up  your  gun  to  shoot 
it,  sits  staring  up  at  you,  and  seems  to  say,  '•  I  have 
done  you  no  harm  ;  why  do  you  aim  that  wicked  thing 
at  me  }  " 

The  wild  duck,  the  hare,  the  magpie,  the  paroquet, 
the  love-bird,  all  these  you  will  find  in  great  numbers 
in  the  Bush,  besides  a  host  of  superbly  plumaged  birds, 
among  which  the  lyre-bird,  with  its  tail-feathers  forming 
a  perfect  lyre-shape,  stands  preeminent.  Besides  these, 
there  is  a  creature  impossible  to  overlook — the  hated 
rabbit,  pursued  and  dreaded  more  than  a  wild  beast  by 
the  Australians,  whose  pastures  he  devours.  In  Europe, 
if  you  killed  a  rabbit  without  permission,  you  would  lay 
yourself  open  to  a  fine  :  in  Australia,  if  you  aimed  at  a 
rabbit  and  missed  it,  I  believe  you  would  be  hanged  with- 
out a  preliminary  trial.  The  hatred  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at,  for  the  rabbits  make  such  ravages  that  squat- 
ters go  to  the  expense  of  putting  wire  fences  all  round 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  I27 

their  immense  stations  to  keep  them  out.  The  rabbit 
race  never  could  have  dreamt  that  it  would  one  day 
acquire  such  tremendous  importance.  More  than  once 
the  "rabbit  question"  has  occupied  the  attention  of  the 
Parliaments  of  the  different  Australasian  colonies.  The 
authorities  were  even  for  a  long  while  in  communication 
with  M.  Pasteur,  seeking  to  obtain  a  virus  which  might 
be  the  means  of  exterminating  the  race.* 

The  most  notable  Australian  creatures  are  the  kan- 
garoo among  the  quadrupeds,  and  the  emu  among  the 
bipeds ;  the  latter  is  a  bird  much  resembling  the 
ostrich,  but  is  smaller  and  more  thick-set.  That  gigan- 
tic bird,  the  moa,  which  was  a  denizen  of  the  Austra- 
lasian Bush,  can  now  only  be  seen  in  skeleton  form  in 
New  Zealand  museums.  Some  of  them  measure  six- 
teen feet  in  height. 

The  kangaroo  and  the  emu  are  still  plentiful,  but  one 
has  to  penetrate  pretty  far  into  the  Bush  before  one 
meets  with  either. 

The  kangaroo  is  as  mild  as  a  lamb,  and  never  attacks ; 
but  when  hunte*^  .nd  set  upon  by  dogs,  he  can  defend 
himself  very  intelli;^ently.  He  runs  to  a  spot  where  he 
knows  there  is  watci.  When  a  dog  is  too  close  on  him, 
and  he  feels  there  will  not  be  time  to  find  a  place  of 
shelter,  he  goes  into  the  water  and  waits.  The  dog  fol- 
lows, and  when  he  is  within  reach  the  kangaroo  seizes 
his  paws  with  his  own  long  hind  ones,  pulls  him  under 
water,  sits  at  his  ease,  and,  by  means  of  his  short  fore- 
paws  holds  the  dog  down  until  death  completes  the 
process.     It  is,  as  you  see,  very  artistically  done. 

*  A  couple  of  rabbits  will,  at  the  end  of  ten  years,  have  produced 
a  family  reaching  to  the  fabulous  number  of  70,000,000. 


128  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

If  the  Australian  Bush  is  melancholy,  neither  are  the 
figures  one  meets  in  its  solitudes  very  gay.  The  shep- 
herd, or  boundary  rider,  as  he  is  called,  is  the  most  im- 
portant of  these,  and  he  is  not  unpicturesque  as  he  sits 
loosely  on  horseback,  with  limply  hanging  reins,  and 
wearing  a  large  soft  hat,  generally  inclined  over  his 
eyes,  to  shade  them  from  the  brilliant  sunrhine.  His 
business  is  to  inspect  the  fences  and  barriers  of  a  sta- 
tion, and  so  his  days  are  passed  in  solitary  riding.  He 
— in  fact  every  Bushman — is  a  splendid  rider,  although 
he  may  not  look  smart  in  the  saddle.  Australian  horses 
are  only  half  broken,  and  there  are  hundreds  of  them 
that  would  put  the  antics  cf  Buffalo  Bill's  bv.ck-jumpers 
into  the  shade. 

A  sad-looking  figure  is  the  **  sundowner "  who,  as 
his  name  implies,  turns  up  at  sundown  and  claims  the 
hospitality  of  the  squatter.  He  is  supplied  with  rations 
and  a  shelter  for  tlie  night.  Next  morning  he  goes  on 
his  way,  if  there  is  no  work  for  him,  and  directs  his 
steps  toward  some  neighboring  station,  where  he  will 
meet  with  the  same  kindness.  He  is  always  on  the 
move.  Sometimes  there  is  work  which  he  can  do,  and 
he  stops  to  earn  a  few  shillings  ;  but  more  often  he  is 
not  wanted,  and  he  tramps  through  the  Bush,  forgotten, 
lost,  in  its  immense  solitudes.  On  his  back  are  all  his 
goods  and  chattels  :  a  blue  blanket,  and  a  tin  can  called 
a  billy,  which,  with  his  pipe,  generally  form  his  whole 
impidijucnta. 

As  spring  advances  you  meet  the  more  lively  figure 
of  the  shearer  with  his  two  horses,  one  to  carry  him, 
another  to  carry  his  baggage.  He  is  seldom  alone,  but 
rides  in   companies  of  three  or  four.     This  man  is  in 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  129 

comparatively  affluent  circumstances,  since  he  can  earn 
from  one  to  two  pounds  a  day.  The  squatter  pays  a 
pound  for  the  shearing  of  each  hundred  sheep,  and 
there  are  some  shearers  so  clever  at  the  work  tliUt  they 
can  shear  two  hundred  a  day.  When  you  meet  him  he 
is  on  his  way  to  some  station  where  he  has  been  en- 
gaged for  the  shearing,  and  he  has  perhaps  twenty  or 
thirty  pounds  in  his  pocket.  You  think,  perhaps,  that 
he  is  going  to  carry  that  money  to  the  bank,  so  as  to 
be  able  one  day  to  buy  a  little  land  and  do  some  farm- 
ing on  his  own  account.  Do  not  be  so  sure  of  it :  as 
likely  as  not,  he  will  take  it  to  some  public-house  that 
he  finds  on  his  road,  and  there  he  will  stay  until  all  the 
money  has  gone  down  his  throat.  The  tavern-keeper 
is  on  the  look-out  for  him,  and  it  is  he  who  will  be  the 
richer  for  the  man's  labor.  The  shearer,  finding  his 
pockets  empty,  wonders  how  it  is  he  has  no  money,  and 
makes  up  his  mind  to  strike  for  higher  pay  next  season. 

Another  figure  you  will  meet,  and  he,  too,  is  on  horse- 
back— always  on  horseback  or  driving — is  the  minister. 
The  good  man  is  going  to  some  squatter's  station  to 
pray  with  the  family,  who  are  too  far  removed  from  the 
nearest  town  to  come  often  to  service  in  church  or 
chapel.  Me  wears  a  moustache  and  rabbit-paw  whiskers 
in  the  Australian  fashion,  and  he  is  white  with  dust  from 
head  to  foot. 

Presently  it  is  the  doctor  you  pass,  who  is  perhaps 
going  on  a  fifty  or  sixty  mile  journey  through  the  Bush 
to  attend  an  urgent  case. 

Here  is  the  wife  of  some  ordinary  farmer.  She  is 
returning  from  the  town,  where  she  has  been  making 
purchases.     She  is  on  horseback,  but  in  ordinary  walk- 


I30  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

ing  dress.  Her  packages  are  strapped  to  the  saddle. 
With  her  left  hand  she  holds  the  reins,  while  with  the 
right  she  holds  a  sunshade  or  umbrella  to  shelter  her 
from  sun  or  rain. 

Everyone  you  chance  to  meet  in  the  Bush  salutes 
you,  not  by  inclining  the  head  in  the  ordinary  way,  but 
by  a  side  movement,  without  any  smile  or  gesture,  of 
the  hand. 

Everyone  rides  in  Australia — the  sliop-boy,  the  post- 
man, the  telegraph  boy,  the  lamp-lighter,  the  beggar 
even. 

I  remember  having  been  accosted  one  day  near  Mus- 
selbrook,  by  a  man  on  horseback  who  asked  for  alms. 

"  Does  that  horse  belong  to  you  ?  "  I  said  to  him. 

"  Certainly,"  he  replied.     ''  Why  not  ?  " 

"  I  have  nothing  to  say  against  it,"  I  rejoined,  "  only 
I  envy  you,  that  is  all.  I  should  like  to  be  rich  enough 
to  keep  a  horse  of  my  own  like  you." 

It  is  true  that  you  can  get  a  horse  in  the  Colonies  for 
a  pound  or  two,  and  I  saw  some,  not  at  all  bad  ones, 
that  had  been  obtained  for  a  few  shillings. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

The  Most  Piquant  Thing  in  Australia — Aspect  of  the  Small 
Towns — Each  Takes  his  Pleasure  where  he  Finds  it — Aus- 
tralian Life — Tea,  Always  Tea — Whiskey  or  Water — Favor- 
ite Occupation — Seven  Meals  a  Day — Squatters. 

Australia  may  be  divided  into  two  distinct  sections  ; 
the  great  towns,  that  is  to  say,  the  capitals  of  the  four 
principal  colonies,  Sydney,  Melbourne,  Adelaide  and 
Brisbane,  and  about  a  hundred  small  towns  which,  in 
my  eyes,  are  the  real  Australia.  In  the  large  towns  we 
shall  study  colonial  society ;  in  the  small  ones  we  shall 
see  the  typical  Australian,  the  pioneer  of  British  civiliz- 
ation. 

There  is  nothing  very  piquant  in  Australia,  unless  it 
be  the  mosquitoes.  Woe  betide  you  if  you  are  a 
stranger  in  the  land  ;  you  will  be  hailed  as  a  new  and 
succulent  dish  by  these  winged  anthropophagi.  The 
word  will  go  round,  and  they  will  flock  from  all  quar- 
ters to  taste  the  newly  imported  treat.  The  flies,  too, 
will  pester  you  pitilessly,  and  follow  by  thousands  in 
your  walks.  I  have  seen  men  dressed  in  white  coutil 
literally  black  from  head  to  waist.  A  net  attached  to 
the  brim  of  your  hat,  and  falling  around  your  head  on- 
to your  shoulders,  will  protect  your  face  and  neck,  and 
I  only  hope  that  the  mosquito  net  will  protect  you  dur- 
ing the  night. 

All  the  little  Australian  towns  resemble  one  another. 

131 


132  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

One  main  street,  which  generally  contains  the  town 
hall,  the  post  office,  the  court  house,  the  banks,  the 
hotels,  the  club  and  the  principal  shops,  and  a  few  cross 
streets  containing  one-storied  wooden  houses,  roofed 
with  corrugated  iron.  A  little  removed  from  the  dwel- 
ling houses  stand  the  hospital  and  its  garden,  neat  and 
admirably  kept.  Here  and  there  a  few  churches  and 
chapels  represent  the  different  forms  of  worship  that 
Protestantism  has  invented.  It  is  good  to  hear  that 
the  followers  of  the  various  spiritual  guides  are  all  on 
good  terms,  and  help  one  another  when  there  is  a  ba- 
zaar to  be  got  up,  or  work  of  any  kind  to  be  done.  I 
cannot  see  why  they  should  not  still  improve  on  this  by 
all  worshiping  under  one  roof.  If  the  town  boasts  a 
pretty  site — a  hill,  for  instance — and  you  see  a  rather  im- 
portant-looking edifice  on  it,  you  may  be  quite  sure 
that  it  is  the  Roman  Catholic  church  or  a  convent. 
This  is  infallible. 

What  strikes  you,  and  first  of  all  astonishes  you,  is 
that  towns  of  a  thousand  to  two  or  three  thousand  in- 
habitants should  possess  so  many  public  buildings. 
Their  town  halls  and  their  post  offices  are  often  more 
imposing  than  those  in  our  towns  of  fifty  or  sixty 
thousand  inhabitants.  The  Bank  of  New  South  Wales, 
which  has  scores  of  branches  in  all  the  Colonies,  includ- 
ing Tasmania  and  New  Zealand,  is  represented  by  an 
edifice,  and  in  some  towns  by  a  veritable  palace.  With 
the  other  banks  it  is  much  the  same.  Australia  is  the 
land  of  banks. 

The  roads  in  all  parts  are  well  cut,  well  laid,  and  ad- 
mirably kept.  This  strikes  the  traveler  very  much, 
especially  any  one  arriving  in  Australia  from  America, 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  1 33 

where,  even  in  the  largest  cities,  the  roads  are  some- 
times rough  and  dirty  as  ploughed  fields,  and  one  sinks 
up  to  the  ankle  in  dust  or  mud,  according  to  the  weather. 
The  Australians  have  done  better  still.  Almost  every 
little  town  has  its  public  garden  or  a  park,  planted  with 
the  different  trees  of  each  colony,  containing  conserva- 
tories, well  stocked  with  ferns,  palms,  and  flowers. 
There  are  lawns  and  flower  beds,  and  often  a  lake  with 
swans  and  wild  ducks  on  it.  The  streets  are  planted 
with  trees  on  either  side  ;  chestnuts,  acacias,  or  gums 
from  the  Bush,  if  the  finances  of  the  town  do  not  admit 
of  imported  greenery.  When  I  saw  some  New  South 
Wales  towns,  Albury,  Wagga-Wagga,  and  others,  they 
were  veritable  bowers  of  bloom  and  verdure.  For  years 
past  they  have  been  planting  three  thousand  trees  a 
year  in  Wagga-Wagga. 

Each  town  seeks  to  outdo  its  neighbors,  and  nothing 
is  more  amusing  than  to  hear  them  tu  qiioque  one  an- 
other, but  this  emulation  results  in  the  growth  of  some 
very  pretty  places.  Every  Australian  is  persuaded  that 
his  town  is  superior  to  all  the  other  towns  of  the  Colony, 
and  he  is  not  long  in  querying  whether  by  chance  the 
axle  of  the  universe  will  not  one  day  show  itself  just 
there.     Admire  him,  he  is  happy. 

Assuredly  it  is  not  you,  my  dear  Parisian,  who  would 
be  able  to  make  yourself  happy  in  the  life  of  a  little 
Australian  town.  It  is  not  I,  either.  But  I  met,  in 
some  of  these  tiny  centres  of  population,  rich,  very  rich 
people,  who  said  to  me,  "  I.  am  perfectly  happy,  and  if 
I  had  a  hundred  millions  I  would  continue  to  live  here. 
I  do  not  ask  or  desire  anything  better  in  this  world." 
The  out-door  life,  the  freedom,  the  vastness  of  the  coun- 


134  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

try,  all  charm  them ;  the  chase  and  athletics  form  good 
recreation ;  agriculture  and  the  breeding  of  horses, 
sheep,  and  cattle,  occupy  them  ,  they  are  proud  to  con- 
template the  town  that  they  have  helped  to  found 
where  there  was  once  but  the  wild  Bush.  They  are 
happy,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 

Nothing  breaks  the  tranquillity  of  these  little  towns, 
unless  it  be  the  bi-weekly  din  of  the  tambourines  and 
cornets  of  that  gigantic  farce  called  the  Salvation  Army. 
If  the  railway  passes  through  the  place,  the  arrival  of 
the  evening  train  is  the  event  of  the  day,  and  a  crowd 
congregates  at  the  station  to  see  it  come  in. 

It  is  during  the  wool  season  that  the  towns  are  most 
full  of  movement.  A  loud  crack,  as  of  a  rifle  report, 
strikes  the  ear,  and  there  comes  into  sight  along  the 
dusty  road  a  slow-moving  wagon,  drawn  by  a  team  of 
sixteen  or  eighteen  sturdy,  broad-backed  oxen,  who 
plod  in  front  of  the  great  load,  and  look  as  if  no  w^hip 
or  other  contrivance  of  man  had  power  to  stir  their 
placid  pulses.  From  six  to  ten  tons  of  wool  are  they 
drawing,  perhaps  up  a  steep  street,  with  long,  strong, 
steady  pull ;  at  just  that  gait  they  set  out  from  their 
starting-place  in  the  morning,  and  at  just  that  gait  will 
they  go  until  the  moment  when  they  are  unyoked  at 
night.  Day  after  day  these  loads  are  coming  through 
the  town  on  their  way  to  the  railway  station,  and  the 
sound  of  the  rawhide  whips  is  constantly  heard.  One 
grazier  has  20,000  sheep  to  be  shorn  ;  another  30,000  or 
more.  Their  flocks  and  herds  astonished  me,  until  I 
had  been  to  Queensland  and  had  heard  of  a  station  as 
large  as  the  whole  of  England  belonging  to  one  man. 
Even  then  it  was  difficult  to  restrain  an  exclamation  of 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  I35 

amazement  at  the  sight  of  the  great  mobs  of  cattle  and 
sheep  one  is  constantly  meeting  on  the  road. 

For  anyone  fond  of  the  freedom  of  an  open-air  exist- 
ence, life  in  the  Colonies  must  be  full  of  charm.  Horses 
are  plentiful,  so  that  riding  and  driving  are  within  the 
reach  of  all.  Game  is  also  plentiful,  and  there  is  no 
lack  of  sport  for  him  who  loves  a  gun.  The  sky  is  a 
glorious  blue  one,  and  for  nine  months  of  the  year,  if 
not  twelve,  the  sun  invites,  nay,  entices,  to  all  out-door 
games.  And  how  all  the  young  Australians  respond  to 
the  invitation  !  What  picnickings,  what  tennis  tourna- 
ments and  riding  parties,  to  say  nothing  of  foot-ball 
and  cricket,  are  always  in  progress  !  How  many  times 
have  I  had  among  my  audience  at  a  lecture  a  party  of 
fifteen  or  sixteen  young  people,  with  perhaps  one  chap- 
eron, who  had  driven  forty  or  fifty  miles  through  the 
Bush  to  come  and  hear  it  ;  and  it  was  exhilarating 
merely  to  see  them  set  off  at  about  ten  at  night,  full  of 
gaiety  at  the  thought  of  the  return  home  through  the 
moonlit  Bush.  The  rich  squatters  have  splendid  teams, 
and  a  little  business  in  the  chief  town  of  the  district  is 
made  a  pretext  for  getting  up  a  merry  excursion.  The 
four-in-hand  is  ready,  baskets  well-filled  are  put  in,  and 
the  light-hearted  little  party  drive  off.  In  some  suit- 
able spot  by  the  way  a  halt  is  made,  a  champagne  lunch 
is  spread  and  eaten,  seasoned  with  hunger  and  hilarity. 
After  this  pleasant  interruption  the  journey  through  the 
Bush  is  resumed,  and  the  merry  party  arrive  at  their 
destination,  ready  to  do  justice  to  a  good  dinner  at 
the  hotel,  and  to  enjoy  any  entertainment  that  may  be 
going  on. 


136  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

For  the  botanist,  for  the  lover  of  natural  history, 
what  happy  hours  are  in  store  with  the  thousand  flow- 
ers, butterflies  and  birds  of  the  Bush,  and  what  delight 
for  the  artist  in  the  gorgeous  sunsets.  The  sun  is  leav- 
ing the  sky,  setting  in  a  blaze  of  crimson  and  purple 
and  gold  that  would  draw  everyone  out  of  doors  to  see 
it,  if  it  were  not  an  almost  every-day  occurrence.  But 
here,  in  this  clear  atmosphere,  gorgeous  sunsets  are  the 
rule,  and  not  the  exception,  so  the  people  of  the  little 
Bushtown  go  on  sacrificing  to  that  household  god,  the 
teapot,  and  placidly  sup  while  the  sky  goes  through  its 
marvelous  color-harmonies  for  the  benefit  of  the  few 
stragglers  who  may  happen  to  be  out,  and  to  have  eyes 
to  see  with.  The  great  disc  of  fire  disappears,  and  now 
the  sky  pales  a  little  ;  but  in  ten  minutes  more  comes 
the  afterglow,  lovelier  than  the  sunset  itself,  if  possible, 
and  in  this  half-mysterious  light  even  the  little  square, 
iron-roofed  houses  look  almost  beautiful.  The  short 
twilight  soon  gives  place  to  night,  and  the  silence  of 
the  Bush  envelops  the  town.  From  far  off  the  bark- 
ing of  a  dog,  the  lowing  of  a  cow,  reaches  the  ear ;  the 
crickets  chirp,  the  frogs  croak,  but  nothing  stirs ;  and 
these  sounds  do  but  emphasize  the  quiet.  The  men  are 
at  their  club,  the  women  are  at  home.  Little  intellect- 
ual activity  finding  vent  in  literary  societies  ;  no  courses 
of  public  lectures  on  science,  such  as  one  finds  in  the 
veriest  villages  in  America. 

The  Australians  take  things  easily,  and,  as  a  people, 
are  not  early  risers :  at  half-past  eight  plenty  of  shops 
are  still  unopened.  They  do  not  walk  much  :  in  the 
afternoon  the  streets  are  deserted,  even  when  the  atmos- 
phere is  dehcious  and  the  temperature  moderate.     As 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  137 

you  stroll  past  the  houses  you  hciir  the  "  Maiden's 
Prayer,"  or  the  "  Blue  Bells  of  Scotland,"  being 
strummed  on  some  old  tin-kettle  of  a  piano,  and  you 
feel  as  if  you  had  strayed  into  some  little  corner  of  the 
England  of  1830,  pitched  down  at  the  antipodes,  instead 
of  being  in  a  new  community ;  and  this  is  an  impression 
that  will  gain  strength  when  you  enter  the  houses  and 
see  pictures  of  racing  and  hunting,  with  postilions  in 
high  hats,  chairs  protected  by  white  antimacassars,  arti- 
ficial fruit  and  flowers  under  glass  shades,  and  on  the 
mantelpiece  terrible  things  of  colored  glass  with  plain 
glass  strips  hanging  round  them,  like  the  dangling  front 
curls  of  the  Englishwomen  of  that  day. 

In  the  hotels  the  impression  will  deepen  still  more. 
The  same  bar  with  the  little  parlor  for  the  habitues. 
The  walls  are  covered  with  the  same  engravings,  boxers 
and  cricketers  of  days  gone  by,  the  eternal  "  Trial  of 
Charles  I.,"  and  the  everlasting  "  Lord  William  Rus- 
sell Going  to  the  Scaffold,"  which  in  England  take  the 
place  of  our  "  Death  of  Poniatowski "  or  "  The  Adieux  of 
Napoleon  at  Fontainebleau." 

The  English  often  complain  that  there  is  no  soap  in 
our  hotel  bedrooms.  There  are  some  who  go  so  far  as 
to  conclude  that  we  do  not  wash.  We  prefer  to  use 
our  own  soap,  which  we  carry  in  our  trunks  with  us. 
Everyone  to  his  taste.  In  all  colonial  hotels  you  find 
soap.  In  most  you  also  find  a  comb  and  brush.  I  never 
saw  that  brush  without  saying  to  myself,  '*  Who  spent 
the  night  here  yesterday  ?  It  is  enough.  I  pass,"  and 
with  a  gingerly  touch  I  remove  the  obtrusive  thing. 

Just  as  /Eneas  carried  his  household  gods  from  Troy 
to  Italy,  so  the  English  have  carried  their  customs  from 


138  JOHN    IJULL    &    CO. 

England  to  Australia,  with  this  difference,  that  the  gods 
of  ^neas  were  transferred  to  a  climate  like  the  one 
they  had  left,  whereas  the  dry,  hot,  bracing  climate  of 
Australia  is  the  very  opposite  of  the  damp,  cold,  relax- 
ing one  of  England.  It  is  curious  to  find  the  Briton 
still  eating  his  porridge,  even  in  the  tropical  parts  of 
Queensland ;  porridge — a  food  adopted  by  the  Scotch 
to  keep  their  blood  warm  in  a  cold  and  humid  climate. 
And  there  are  the  same  soups,  or  rather  the  same  soup,  An- 
glo-Saxondom  having  invented  but  one  as  yet;  the  same 
roast  beef  and  roast  mutton,  accompanied  by  the  same 
potatoes  and  vegetables,  cooked  in  water,  and  followed 
by  the  same  puddings.  But  I  must  hasten  to  say  that 
all  these  things  are  well  cooked,  and  not  like  the  name- 
less horrors  served  to  one  in  the  hotels  of  little  Ameri- 
can towns ;  but,  after  all,  to  go  to  the  other  end  of  the 
world,  and  be  presented  with  exactly  the  same  fare  as 
in  Liverpool  or  Manchester,  is  tiresome  and  disappoint- 
ing: one  would  like  to  see  on  the  bill  of  fare  a  dish  of 
kangaroo,  a  cockatoo  sautc\  or  an  emu  chick  a  VAiistra- 
licnnc.  The  people  one  sees  in  the  hotels  are  nearly 
all  washing  down  their  dinner  with  water  or  tea,  not 
from  sobriety — for  most  of  the  male  portion  will  go  to 
the  bar  to  pass  the  evening  over  their  whiskey — but  from 
habit.  The  hotel-keeper  does  not  push  his  wine,  which 
is  dear ;  he  prefers  to  sell  his  whiskey,  upon  which  he 
gets  a  considerable  profit.  Australia  is  now  a  first-class 
wine-growing  country,  and  it  would  have  a  splendid 
future  in  the  European  markets  if  the  Australians  were 
themselves  the  first  to  appreciate  their  good  fortune. 
As  I  have  already  said,  the  drinkers  do  not  find  the  wine 
strong  enough  in  alcohol  to  please  them,  and  the  fanatics 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  1 39 

preach  total  abstinence.  These  latter  forget  that  drunk- 
enness is  rarely  caused  by  wine-drinking,  and  that  wine- 
drinking  nations,  such  as  France,  Germany,  Spain  and 
Italy,  are  the  countries  where  one  finds  fewest  drunkards. 

The  Australians  pass  the  greater  part  of  their  time  at 
table.  At  seven  they  take  tea  and  bread  and  butter. 
At  half-past  eight  they  breakfast  off  cold  meat,  chops 
or  steaks,  eggs  and  bacon  and  tea.  At  eleven  most 
of  them  take  a  light  lunch  of  beer  and  biscuit,  or  tea 
and  bread  and  butter,  according  to  their  sex.  At  one, 
or  half-past,  they  dine,  and  again  the  teapot  is  in  requi- 
sition. At  three,  afternoon  tea  is  served  and  swallowed. 
From  six  to  seven  all  Australia,  broadly  speaking,  is 
taking  its  third  meat  meal,  and  again  drinking  tea. 
Those  who  stay  up  at  all  late  sometimes  supplement 
this  with  a  light  collation  at  ten. 

Meat  is  served  at  every  meal,  roast  or  boiled,  and 
never  reappears  in  the  form  of  appetizing  croquettes  or 
stew.  Animal  food  is  so  cheap  (from  twopence  to  four- 
pence  per  pound)  that  rechauffe's  are  disdained.  As  for 
vegetables,  they  are  boiled  in  water  and  served  as  in 
England,  without  any  special  preparation.  Lettuce  and 
celery  are  constantly  eaten  without  any  seasoning  but 
salt.  In  the  matter  of  cookery,  the  Anglo-Saxon  is 
about  as  far  advanced  as  the  rabbit. 

Most  of  these  little  Australian  towns  are  surrounded 
by  immense  estates  belonging  to  squatters  whose  par- 
ents acquired  them  for  a  few  pounds  sterling,  but  which 
would  realize  fabulous  sums  to-day.  Very  often  this  is 
what  hinders  the  towns  from  going  ahead  in  size  and 
importance.  They  console  themselves  with  the  thought 
that  the  squatters  keep  them  going. 


I40  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

A  squatter  is  as  proud  of  his  acres  as  a  Duke  of 
Westminster,  and  he  hates  to  sell  any  part  of  his  sta- 
tion. His  expenses  are  so  far  below  his  income  that  he 
would  not  know  what  to  do  with  the  product  of  such  a 
sale,  and  he  prefers  to  keep  his  land  and  feel  that  it  is 
increasing  in  value. 

Perhaps,  when  the  population  of  Australia  increases 
faster  than  it  does  at  present,  it  will  be  necessary  for  the 
Legislators  to  pass  a  law  to  oblige  these  large  holders  of 
land  to  sell  part  of  their  absurdly  immense  estates  at  a 
fixed  price,  and  so  allow  the  country  to  develop. 

But  the  population  will  scarcely  increase,  by  immigra- 
tion, at  all  events.  The  Germans,  the  Swedes,  the  Nor- 
wegians, and  the  poor  Irish,  who,  together,  form  the 
great  bulk  of  European  emigrants,  go  to  America  or 
the  northwest  of  Canada.  The  voyage  costs  them  now 
less  than  three  pounds,  while  to  go  to  South  Africa  or  the 
Australasian  Colonies  they  would  need  from  twelve  to 
eighteen  pounds.  If  an  Irish  peasant  possessed  eighteen 
pounds  he  would  live  on  his  means  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

Population,  that  is  the  crying  want  of  Australia. 

England  too  often  sends  out  useless  people,  family 
scapegraces,  idlers,  drunkards,  failures  of  every  kind. 
Australia  wants  none  of  these. 

What  a  future  Australia  would  have  before  her,  if  she 
could  import  from  the  fields  of  France  those  hardy, 
sober,  honest,  thrifty  laborers,  brought  up  on  that  old, 
slow^-going  soil,  in  that  land  of  sobriety,  common  sense, 
hard  work  and  economy !  This  is  a  sentiment  that  I 
have  often  heard  expressed  by  Australians  who  had  seen 
our  field  laborers  at  work. 

Unfortunately  for  Australia,  the  French  peasant  does 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  141 

not   emigrate.      He   loves   his   country   and    he   stays 

there. 

Mention  must  be  made  of  the  names  that  those  little 
towns  of  Australasia  have  been  saddled  with.  One  is 
named  Richmond,  another  Montpellier,  the  next  Jeru- 
salem. There  is  a  Perth,  a  Jericho,  a  Windsor,  a  Tara- 
tatakirikiki,  a  Berlin,  a  Canrobert,  a  St.  Arnaud  (towns 
founded  at  the  time  of  the  Crimean  war)  a  Wooroom- 
gorra.  A  railway  station,  with  three  or  four  little 
wooden  cabins  in  the  background,  bears  the  sounding 
name  of  Kensington,  the  next  on  the  line  something 
that  resembles  Tararaboomdeay.  One  of  the  suburbs 
of  Sydney  rejoices  in  the  name  of  Wooloomooloo.  Try 
and  fancy  yourself  in  a  civilized  country  at  Wooroom- 
gorra,  or  Wooloomooloo  ! 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Australian  Natives — The  Last  Tasmanian  is  in  the  Museum 
— A  Broken-down  King  Accepts  my  Penny — Diana  Pays 
Me  a  Visit — The  Trackers — The  Queensland  Aborigines — 
The  Boomerang — Curious  Rites — The  Ladies  Refuse  to 
Wash  for  the  Bachelors. 

The  Australian  aborigines  have  not  given  the  Eng- 
lish much  trouble.  Humanity  has  no  type  mor^  abject 
or  degraded.  Possessing  neither  intelligence  nor  cour- 
age, the  race  was  easily  disposed  of.  Two  potions  did 
the  work  :  the  Bible,  which  converted  them,  and  the 
whiskey-bottle,  which  diverted  them  from  the  care  of 
their  territory.  New  South  Wales  has  very  few  left,  Vic- 
toria has  still  about  five  hundred,  and  Tasmania  has  the 
skeleton  of  her  last  preserved  in  the  museum  at  Hobart. 
The  type  is  a  horrible  one.  The  body  is  badly  formed, 
the  legs  thin,  and  the  arms  like  those  of  an  orang-outang ; 
the  forehead  is  high,  narrow,  and  receding,  the  eyes  dull ; 
the  chin  scarcely  exists,  and  is  almost  merged  in  the 
lower  jaw,  which  is  receding  and  very  large.  The  hair 
is  long  and  fuzzy  and  looks  like  a  crow's  nest. 

These  savages  are  the  only  inhabitants  of  the  earth 
who  have  no  idea  of  making  habitations  for  themselves. 
Three  pieces  of  wood  fixed  in  the  ground  and  support- 
ing the  bark  of  a  tree,  this  is  as  far  as  their  genius  of  in- 
vention ever  led  them  in  the  path  of  architecture. 

The  unhappy  creatures  may  be  met  with,  straying 
around  the  little  towns,  and  rubbing  their  stomachs  to 

142 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  I43 

make  you  understand  that  they  are  hungry.  If  you  give 
them  a  few  pence  they  go  to  the  public-house.  They 
are  the  only  beggars  who  will  accept  copper  money ; 
a  white  would  throw  it  in  your  face.  The  native  him- 
self begins  to  have  a  look  of  contempt  for  the  penny. 
One  day,  when  I  gave  a  penny  to  some  black  beggar, 
he  looked  at  the  coin,  smiled,  and  said  in  passable  Eng- 
lish, "  It  is  a  coin  of  your  color  I  should  like,  boss,  not 
one  of  my  own."  In  his  time  this  poor  wretch  was  king 
of  his  tribe,  I  was  told,  and  I  gave  sixpence  to  the  de- 
throned sovereign  to  console  him  for  his  lost  royalty. 

If  the  men  are  horrible,  the  women  are  revoltingly 
ugly,  with  hanging  breasts  and  not  a  vestige  of  feminine 
attractiveness. 

One  of  these  creatures — thank  Heaven,  draped,  if  not 
dressed — came  one  morning  to  the  Western  Hotel,  Warr- 
nambool  (Victoria),  and  asked  to  see  me. 

Diana — it  is  thus  that  she  is  known  in  this  town, 
where  she  lives  on  alms — presented  herself  at  my  door 
hopelessly  drunk.  She  stumbled  and  muttered  a  few 
unintelligible  words. 

"  What  do  you  want  ?  "  said  I,  my  hand  going  to  my 
pocket. 

"  I  have  come  to  pray  for  you,"  she  said,  and  there- 
upon fell  on  her  knees,  and  began  to  mutter  a  prayer. 

The  sight  of  this  horrible  drunken  hag,  trying  to  ejac- 
ulate a  prayer,  revolted  me,  turned  me  sick.  I  had 
meant  to  give  her  money,  but  instead  I  took  her  by  the 
arm  and  put  her  out. 

Diana  was  scarcely  clear  of  my  parlor  before  she  be- 
gan to  swear,  calling  me  by  all  the  names  that  her  vile 
vocabulary  could  furnish. 


144 


JOHN    IJULL    &    CO. 


There  is  another  convert  for  the  English  to  be  proud 
of,  I  said  to  myself. 

The  natives  are  of    no  use  to  the  whites.     In  South 


■JI^M.  '-:'i 


BLACK   TRACKER. 


Africa  amongst  them  arc  found  workmen  of  various 
kinds,  and  the  women  make  excellent  domestic  servants. 
But  in  Australia  King  Demos  would  have  something  to 
say  to  that.     Australia  belongs  to  him,  and  woe  betide 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  I45 

the  Government  that  would  dare  to  find  work  for  the 
blacks.  They  are  looked  upon  as  animals  and  treated 
as  such,  although  they  are  no  longer  killed  like  wild 
ones. 

When  we  get  to  New  Zealand,  that  will  be  another 
story;  but  let  us  not  anticipate. 

The  sole  purpose  for  which  the  Government  employs 
the  black  fellow  is  to  track  criminals  who  have  taken 
refuge  in  the  Bush,  At  this  work  they  are  excellent. 
They  have  the  instinct  of  the  hound,  are  soon  on  the 
track  of  a  fugitive,  and  seldom  fail  to  unearth  him. 

In  the  north  of  Queensland  you  find  some  of  the  na- 
tives horribly  ugly,  but  vigorous  and  well  built.  They 
are  dextrous  at  the  chase,  and  marvelous  is  their  skill 
with  the  boomerang.  If  ever  the  Paris  Hippodrome 
were  in  search  of  an  attraction,  the  directors  would  only 
have  to  engage  a  company  of  North  Queenslanders  to 
throw  the  boomerang  and  they  would  be  sure  to  draw 
all  Paris. 

The  boomerang  is  a  flat  piece  of  wood  about  two  and 
a  half  feet  long,  arched  somewhat  like  a  triangle.  The 
Queenslander  spies  an  object  at  some  distance  from 
him.  The  boomerang,  after  having  hit  this  object  (if  it 
is  a  living  thing  its  end  has  come),  mounts  into  the  air 
like  a  bird,  with  a  whirring  as  of  wings,  to  a  height  of 
sixty  to  eighty  yards,  describes  immense  circles,  and,  if 
it  was  cleverly  thrown,  comes  back  in  its  fall  to  the  feet 
of  the  thrower.  It  is  graceful  in  the  highest  degree  and 
very  marvelous,  but  do  not  try  your  hand  at  it ;  it  is  a 
dangerous  game. 

Among  the  North  Queenslanders  are  tribes  who  prac- 
tise rites  that  are  strange  and  little  known.     When  a 


146 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


male  child  does  not  bid  fair  to  be  an  honor  to  his  n  ce, 
he  is  subjected  to  an  operation  that  shall  preven    his 


NATIVES    OF   NORTH    QUEENSLAND, 
[FrifM  a  Photograph  by  Lomer  &  Co.,  Brisbane^ 

contributing  to  the   augmentation   of   the  population. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


H7 


Europe  might  take  a  lesson  ! 

The  women  despise  the  bachelors.  When  a  man  is 
married,  the  women  are  his  devoted  slaves  and  proud 
to  wait  upon  him.  ^*  But,"  said  Mr.  Meston,  the  well- 
known  ethnologist  of  Brisbane,  to  whom  I  am  indebted 
for  much  information  on  the  subject  of  the  natives,  "if 
the  man  is  a  bachelor,  the  women  even  refuse  to  wash 
his  clothes  for  him." 

If  I  only  wore  the  light  costume  of  the  Queenslander 
this  would  not  trouble  me.  I  should  not  be  long  doing 
my  own  washing. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Politics  and  Politicians — The  Price  of  Liberty — The  Legislative 
Chambers  —  Governors  —  Comparisons  between  American 
and  British  Institutions — The  Politician  and  the  Order  of 
St.  Michael  and  St.  George — An  Eloquent  Candidate — The 
Honorables  —  Colonial  Peerage  —  Sir  Henry  Parkes — A 
Word  to  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria. 

Brought  up  in  the  democratic  ideas  of  the  mother- 
country,  the  Australians,  like  the  English,  the  French 
and  the  Americans,  are  persuaded  that  there  does  not 
exist  among  them  a  man  who  is  not  capable  and  worthy^ 
of  being  Prime  Minister,  and  they  are  only  pitiless  toward 
those  who,  by  their  talents  or  their  perseverance,  have 
outshone  their  fellows.  There  is  not  a  politician  in 
Australia  whom  I  have  not  seen  dragged  in  the  mire,  or 
spoken  of  as  an  incapable  man,  a  schemer,  a  robber,  or, 
at  the  very  least,  a  humbug. 

Liberty  is  so  great  a  boon  that  we  can  scarcely  pay 
too  high  a  price  for  it,  but  one  must  admit  the  price  is 
a  little  exorbitant  when  the  love  of  equality  takes  to 
going  hand  in  hand  with  a  ferocious  jealousy  of  every 
one  who  rises  above  the  common  level. 

Whatever  the  result  may  be,  the  Australian  govern- 
ment (I  mean  the  form)  is  good.  This  young  country 
manages  its  own  affairs  to  its  own  taste.  It  appoints 
its  own  members  to  the  Legislative  Assembly  or  Lower 
House ;  it  elects  the  members  of  the  Legislative  Coun- 

148 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  I49 

cil  or  Upper  House.*  It  not  only  makes  its  own  laws, 
levies  its  own  taxes,  but  it  even  changes  its  constitution 
when  it  chooses.  If  the  parliaments  of  the  Colonies 
were  to  proclaim  their  independence  to-day,  a  civil  war 
might  result,  that  is  to  say,  a  war  between  Australians 
and  Australians  ;  but  it  is  probable  that  England  would 
not  take  part  in  the  quarrel,  and  that  she  would  accept 
the  decision  of  the  majority  or  the  stronger  Australian 
party. 

Australia  pays  no  tribute  to  England,  unless  it  be  the 
interest  of  the  money  England  lends  her.  She  has  her 
fleet,  her  militia,  and  England  sends  her  neither  func- 
tionaries nor  soldiers.  The  Governor  alone,  appointed 
by  the  Queen  on  the  recommendation  of  her  Ministers, 
reminds  Australia  that  she  is  a  branch  of  the  firm,  John 
Bull  &  Co. 

The  manager  of  this  branch,  then,  is  supplied  by  the 
parent  establishment,  but  he  has  no  more  power  in  the 
Colonies  than  the  Queen  has  in  England.  It  is  the  Min- 
isters, responsible  to  Parliament,  and  therefore  to  the 
people,  who  direct  his  speech  and  actions ;  his  functions 
consist  in  making  himself  agreeable  to  the  people,  calm- 
ing jealousies,  preventing  friction  between  the  political 
parties,  or  in  the  relations  of  the  colony  with  England, 
but,  above  all,  in  gracefully  doing  the  honors  of  the 
Government  House.  He  is  the  leader  of  colonial  soci- 
ety, and  for  this  reason  is  generally  chosen  from  among 
the  most  amiable  members  of  the  English  aristocracy. 

*  New  South  Wales  and  New  Zealand  are  exceptions.  In  these 
two  Colonies  it  is  the  Governor  who  appoints  the  members  of  the 
Legislative  Council;  but  he  always  does  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
give  satisfaction  to  *he  people. 


150  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

In  a  word,  Australia  is  a  political  reproduction  of 
England.  Its  constitution  is  built  on  English  lines,  and 
does  not  resemble  the  American  constitution  in  the 
least. 

England  is  a  republic  with  a  hereditary  president, 
purely  constitutional. 

America  is  an  autocracy  with  an  elected  monarch, 
whom  the  people  clothe  with  a  power  almost  as  abso- 
lute as  that  of  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias. 

In  England  and  in  all  the  English  Colonies  the  Min- 
isters are  responsible  to  the  people  for  their  actions. 

The  Ministers  of  the  United  States  are  only  respon- 
sible to  the  President,  who  appoints  them  without  even 
giving  himself  the  trouble  to  make  his  selection  from 
among  the  representatives  of  the  people. 

If  the  House  of  Commons  in  England  declares  that 
the  Ministers  do  not  possess  its  confidence,  those  Minis- 
ters have  to  retire  immediately. 

If  the  Lower  House  in  America  makes  the  same  dec- 
laration, the  Ministers  need  not  take  the  least  notice  of 
it,  and  they  remain  in  power  as  long  as  it  pleases  the 
President  to  retain  them. 

Neither  the  Queen  of  England  nor  any  Governor  of 
her  Colonies  could  take  it  upon  them  to  appoint  or  dis- 
miss a  mere  policeman  or  custom-house  officer. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  appoints  and  dis- 
misses all  the  servants  of  the  State,  from  the  Ministers 
down  to  the  postmen,  without  anyone  being  able  to  in- 
terfere or  object  to  it. 

All  this  is  certainly  in  favor  of  the  English  system  ; 
and  when  the  Americans  would  say  to  me,  "  Canada 
is  destined  to  become  part  of  the  United  States,  and 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  151 

that  which  will  make  annexation  easy  is  that  the  consti- 
tution of  each  American  state  is  the  same  as  that  of 
each  Canadian  province,"  I  replied,  "  You  are  mistaken. 
The  names  may  be  the  same,  but  the  things  are  different. 
In  the  two  countries  the  legislative  power  is  democratic, 
but  while  the  executive  power  is  autocratic  in  the 
States,  it  is  democratic  in  Canada.  If  the  annexation 
takes  place  the  Canadians  will  lose  by  the  change." 

I  have  traveled  over  a  great  part  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face ;  have  lived  in  the  two  great  republics  of  the  world, 
France  and  America,  and  it  is  my  firm  conviction  that 
there  exists,  on  this  planet,  but  one  people  perfectly 
free,  from  a  political  and  social  point  of  view,  and  that 
is  the  English. 

The  form  of  government  in  the  Colonies  leaves  them 
little  to  be  desired,  and  if  only  some  one  could  persuade 
the  most  capable  and  the  most  upright  men  of  good 
colonial  society  to  look  upon  it  as  an  honor  to  represent 
their  countrymen  in  Parliament,  all  would  go  well ;  but 
in  Australia,  as  in  America,  this  class  of  man  is  apt  to 
hold  aloof,  and  allow  the  seat,  which  he  ought  to  oc- 
cupy, to  be  filled  very  often  by  a  noisy  demagogue,  who 
has  his  own  and  not  his  country's  good  at  heart,  and 
who  takes  up  three  hundred  a  year  if  he  sits  in  the  Leg- 
islative Assembly,  and  from  one  thousand  to  6fteen 
hundred  if  he  be  in  the  Ministry. 

In  European  democracies,  the  politician  plays  on  the 
classes  and  the  masses.  In  colonial  democracies  he 
plays  on  the  loyalty  to  the  mother-country  of  one  part 
of  the  community,  and  national  aspirations  of  the  other. 
Nothing  is  sadder  than  to  see  certain  Australian  Minis- 
ters try  to  keep  their  equilibrium  and  satisfy  their  am- 


152  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

bition  in  kissing  the  Queen's  hand  and  cringing  before 
the  populace  of  their  own  country.  At  home,  the  hum- 
ble servant  of  the  people,  whose  motto  is,  "  Australia 
for  the  Australians ;  "  in  the  throne-room  the  courtier 
whom  the  Queen  is  going  to  make  a  Knight  of  St.  Mi- 
chael and  St.  George,  the  man  loyal  to  the  Crown  above 
all  things. 

At  the  Australian  Federal  Convention  held  in  1891, 
the  Premier  of  New  South  Wales  said,  "  There  is  an 
instinct  of  freedom  in  Australia  which  will  compel  our 
people  at  the  earliest  moment  to  form  a  nation  of  their 
own."  The  same  man  a  year  later,  in  England,  as  a 
postulant  knight,  said  in  public,  **  I  hope  the  day  is  far 
distant  when  any  statesman  will  endeavor  to  weaken 
the  cords  which  bind  us  to  England."  The  rank  demo- 
crat had  become  a  democrat  of  tank,  as  the  witty  Syd- 
ney Bulletin  put  it. 

On  returning  home,  the  new-made  knight  once  more 
posed  as  the  Australian  patriot. 

Would  you  like  a  sample  of  a  certain  class  of  Austra- 
lian politicians  ? 

The  scene  passes  at  an  electoral  meeting.  A  candi- 
date makes  a  violent  speech,  in  which  he  denounces  his 
opponent  in  most  vehement  terms.  I  will  spare  you 
the  speech.  When  the  candidate  has  finished  his  har- 
angue, one  of  his  partisans  rises  and  proposes  a  vote  of 
confidence.  No  one  rises  to  second  the  proposal.  The 
candidate,  indignant,  advances  to  the  front  of  the  plat- 
form and  shouts  with  stentorian  voice  "  I  propose  that 
we  adjourn  and  go  and  have  a  drink."     Up  go  all  the 

hands.    "  I  knew  every  d d  one  of  you  would  second 

that,"  he  exclaimed. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  1 53 

In  Australia,  as  in  America,  the  members  of  the  two 
legislative  houses  receive  the  title  of  honorable,  not  only 
during  debates,  but  in  private  life.  Colonial  politicians, 
when  they  came  to  England,  used  to  have  themselves 
announced  with  their  title  of  honorable.  One  day  the 
English  nobility  grew  angry  at  this.  They  protested, 
and  declared  that  the  "  honorable  "  colonials  would  have 
in  future  to  leave  their  honorableness  at  the  custom- 
house on  landing.  Great  was  the  resentment  in  the 
Colonies  at  the  news  of  this  affront  offered  to  their  rep- 
resentatives. Indignation  meetings  were  forthwith 
held,  and  it  was  resolved  that  if  the  English  persisted 
in  not  recognizing  the  colonial  honorables,  the  Colonies 
would  refuse  in  future  to  recognize  English  honorables. 

In  1853  the  Colonies  went  a  little  further.  On  the 
28th  of  July  in  that  year,  a  Bill  was  presented  in  the 
Sydney  Parliament  to  create  a  colonial  peerage.  The 
good  common  sense  of  the  Australian  people  soon  dis- 
posed of  this  huge  joke.  However,  it  would  have  been 
droll  to  hear  announced  in  the  drawing-rooms  of  the  old 
English  aristocracy  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Wooloo- 
mooloo,  the  Marquis  and  Marchioness  of  Parramatta 
and  the  Earl  and  Countess  of  Cockatoo  Island. 

Among  the  politicians  of  the  Colonies  there  are  a  few 
who  have  raised  themselves  above  the  ordinary  level, 
and  who  merit  the  name  of  statesmen.  Of  such  are  the 
late  Sir  John  Macdonald,  Premier  of  Canada,  Sir  Henry 
Parkes,  Premier  of  New  South  Wales,  now  in  his  79th 
year,  and  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes,  Premier  of  Cape  Colony, 
who  may  be  called  the  uncrowned  king  of  South  Africa, 
and  of  whom  I  shall  speak  later. 

Sir  Henry  Parkes  is  a  most  interesting  personality. 


154  JOHN    BUIJ.    &    CO. 

It  is  impossible  to  forget  him  :  an  enormous  head  cov- 
ered with  a  forest  of  white  hair,  a  shrewd  and  penetrating 
glance,  a  slow  and  unctuous  voice ;  an  inimitable  mix- 
ture of  the  lamb  and  the  fox.  Sir  Henry  Parkes  is  the 
champion  of  fiscal  liberty  and  Australasian  unity.  His 
pet  dream  is  to  see  the  seven  colonies  of  Australasia  set 
aside  their  ridiculous  jealousies  and  make  one  family. 

There  are  four  immense  provinces  in  the  north  of 
America  which  form  but  one  Canada,  and  are  all  the 
better  for  it ;  why  should  not  the  seven  Australasian 
colonies  combine  themselves  into  one  powerful  confed- 
eration ?  But  such  are  the  jealousies  that,  to  appease 
in  advance  those  of  Melbourne  and  Sydney,  it  has  already 
been  resolved  that,  if  ever  Australian  confederation 
comes  to  pass,  it  shall  be  Albury,  a  little  town  of  three 
thousand  inhabitants,  situated  on  the  frontier  of  Vic- 
toria and  New  South  Wales,  that  shall  be  made  the 
capital  of  Australia.  It  is  already  dubbed  the  Federal 
City. 

Sir  Henry  Parkes  will  die  without  seeing  his  dream 
realized.  It  is  not  confederation  that  the  people  of  the 
Colonies  demand,  but  still  more  separation.  Queens- 
land at  this  very  time  is  moving  heaven  and  earth  to 
get  divided  into  two  colonies  ;  there  are  even  to  be  found 
Queenslanders  who  go  so  far  as  to  ask  that  their  colony 
be  split  up  into  three. 

During  a  short  stay  at  Rockhampton  I  received  a  depu- 
tation of  notables  who  came  to  talk  of  their  grievances, 
and  pushed  childishness  so  far  as  to  ask  me  to  promise 
that,  on  returning  to  Europe,  I  would  use  all  my  influ- 
ence to  get  the  colony  of  Queensland  separated  into 
two  independent  parts. 


JOHN    HULL    &    CO.  155 

I  received  these  gentlemen  with  all  the  seriousness  of 
which  I  am  capable,  and  I  promised.  Now  1  have  kept 
my  word,  for  how  can  I  doubt  that  the  Queen  of  Eng- 
land and  the  Ministers  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty  will  read 
my  book  and  accede  to  the  righteous  demands  of  the 
worthy  Queensland  patriots  ? 

My  commission  is,  therefore,  executed. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

The  Resources  of  Australia — The  Mines — 2,500  Per  Cent.  Divi- 
dends— Wool — Viticulture — The  Wealth  of  Australia  Com- 
pared to  the  Wealth  of  Most  Other  Countries — Why  France 
is  Richer  than  Other  Nations. 

Australia  is  a  vast  continent,  equal  to  four-fifths  of 
the  superficial  area  of  Europe.  It  contains  a  tract  of 
sterile  land  here  and  there ;  but,  roughly  speaking,  its 
bowels  are  full  of  precious  ore,  and  its  surface  is  admira- 
bly suited  for  raising  cattle,  grazing  sheep,  and  growing 
corn  and  fruit.  If  Australia  had  better  rivers  it  would 
be  another  America ;  unfortunately,  it  lacks  water  and 
hands;  its  rivers  in  summer  are  mostly  trickling  streams 
or  empty  ditches,  and  the  hands  are  not  there  to  over- 
come the  difficulty  by  irrigating  the  land. 

Up  to  the  present  day,  gold,  silver  and  wool  have 
been  the  principal  products  of  Australia. 

The  town  of  Bendigo  produced  in  a  few  years  jC6$,- 
000,000.  Ballarat  ran  this  performance  very  close. 
Broken  Hill  produces  300,000  ounces  of  gold  per  week. 
Mount  Morgan,  in  Queensland,  is  a  mountain  of  gold. 
To  get  at  the  precious  metal,  the  miners  only  have  to 
cut  into  the  mountain,  as  one  would  cut  a  slice  of  cake. 

Needless  to  talk  of  the  fabulous  fortunes  that  have 
been  made  in  a  few  days. 

When  Broken  Hill  was  discovered  nine  years  ago,  a 
company  was  formed,  and  shares  were  issued  at  ;£"i. 

156 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  157 

What  was  the  history  of  those  shares  ?  Here  is  a  short 
and  authentic  story,  which  will  show  you : 

A  merchant  in  Adelaide  bought  a  hundred  of  these 
shares,  and  presented  them  to  his  wife.  "  Take  them, 
my  dear,"  he  said  ;  *'  I  rather  fear  it  may  be  one  hundred 
pounds  thrown  away ;  but  who  knows  ?  The  affair  may 
prosper,  perhaps,  and  if  dividends  should  come,  you  will 
be  so  much  in  pocket."  He  had  just  retired  from  busi- 
ness. After  having  sold  his  concern,  he  went  to  Eng- 
land, intending  to  live  there  on  his  income.  On  landing 
in  London,  he  learned  that  the  bank  in  which  he  had 
placed  his  capital  had  failed.  Not  only  had  he  lost  the 
value  of  his  shares,  but,  as  a  shareholder,  he  was  called 
upon  to  pay  a  sum  which  swallowed  up  every  penny  he 
possessed.  He  was  still  young.  He  determined  to  re- 
turn to  business,  and,  without  unpacking  his  trunks, 
started  for  Australia  again.  On  arriving  at  Adelaide 
he  found  that  the  Broken  Hill  shares  that  he  had  bought 
at  £i  were  worth  ^480  apiece.  Thus  his  wife,  to  whom 
he  had  given  a  hundred  one-pound  shares,  was  worth 
^^48,000.  He  realized  this  fortune,  invested  it  in  Gov- 
ernment consols,  and  does  not  blush  to  live  on  his  wife's 
income. 

The  Mount  Morgan  gold  mine  has  produced  results 
just  as  fabulous.  The  histories  of  Bendigo  and  of  Ballarat 
abound  in  anecdotes  of  the  same  nature,  and  South  Af- 
rica has  more  wonderful  ones  still.  However,  if  I  may 
offer  you  advice,  buy  three-per-cents,  guaranteed  by  the 
State  ;  there  has  been  more  money  thrown  into  mines 
than  has  ever  been  taken  out  of  them. 

For  this  reason  the  Australians  do  not  count  upon 
their  mines  for  a  living.     It  is  their  sheep,  the  fleeces  of 


158  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

which  find  a  ready  sale  in  all  the  markets  of  the  world, 
that  form  the  wealth  of  Australia. 

Viticulture  is  making  enormous  progress.  The  Aus- 
tralian wines,  surcharged  with  alcohol,  as  they  gen- 
erally are,  very  much  resemble  our  Roussillon  wines. 
They  are  lacking  in  delicacy  ;  but  the  wine-growers  are 
beginning  to  understand  that  the  wine -making  art, 
which  has  been  perfected  in  France  by  centuries  of  ex- 
perimental study,  is  not  to  be  learned  in  a  day,  and  one 
after  another  they  have  been  sending  to  France  for 
experts,  whom  they  have  placed  at  the  head  of  their 
vineyards. 

Up  to  now  little  Australian  wine  has  been  consumed 
in  the  Colonies.  The  water-drinkers,  the  fanatics  of  all 
shades,  preach  temperance  (a  word  which  in  English 
signifies  total  abstinence,  and  not  moderation),  the  Gov- 
ernments put  on  an  enormous  duty  ;*  the  hotel-keepers 
charge  three  to  six  shillings  a  bottle  for  the  most  ordi- 
nary kinds,  and  the  result  is,  that  the  bulk  of  the  people 
drink  water,  tea  or  whiskey,  and  the  rich  drink  the  wines 
of  France  and  Germany. 

As  yet,  Australia  does  not  produce  a  thirtieth  part  of 
the  wine  consumed  by  London  alone.  I  predict  that 
in  twenty  years  Australia  will  be  sending  her  wines  to 
the  four  corners  of  the  world.  When  all  the  other 
inhabitants  of  the  globe  are  drinking  it,  perhaps  the 
Australians  may  make  up  their  minds  to  taste  what  it 
is  like. 

The  private  wealth  of  America  is  ;^39.o.o  per  inhab- 
itant;  of   England,   ;^35.4.o;    of   France,  ;^25.i4.o;  of 

*  The  duty  on  a  three-shilling  bottle  of  wine  entering  Victoria 
from  New  South  Wales,  or  vice-versd,  is  three  shillings. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  1 59 

Germany,  ;^i8.i4.o;  of  Austria,  £16.6.0.  The  private 
wealth  of  AustraHa  is  £4.^. 

Then  the  AustraHan  is  the  richest  man  in  the  world. 

Not  at  all. 

If  two  people  living  together  possess,  one  ;^8,0C)0  and 
the  other  nothing,  they  possess,  say  statistics,  ^^4,000 
each.  This  ought  to  be  a  great  comfort  to  number 
two.  Australia,  like  America  and  England,  has  some 
very  wealthy  men,  squatters  and  mine-owners,  who,  in 
a  few  years,  have  amassed  millions,  and  in  the  large 
towns  she  has  a  population  of  more  than  a  hundred 
thousand  people,  for  whom,  each  morning,  existence  is 
a  problem  hard  to  solve. 

England  and  America  are  the  countries  where  for- 
tunes are  most  disproportionate.  On  one  hand  million- 
aires living  in  unbridled  luxury ;  on  the  other,  poor 
starving  wretches  huddled  together  in  frightful  hovels, 
in  a  state  of  numb  despair  induced  by  overwhelming 
evils. 

England  and  America  are  also  the  two  countries 
where  people  speculate  the  most.  Now,  it  is  not  specu- 
lation that  enriches  a  country,  it  is  production.  Specu- 
lation enriches  a  few  individuals  at  the  expense  of  a 
few  others.  The  money  passes  from  one  pocket  to  an- 
other in  this  way,  without  the  country  having  benefited 
by  the  transaction.  The  products  of  the  soil  and  of 
industry  are  the  only  sources  of  real  riches  in  a  coun- 
try. Speculators  are  the  country's  enemies,  encourag- 
ing a  man  to  make  a  gain  which  shall  be  another  man's 
loss.  When  the  great  day  of  social  reform  arrives, 
which  is  coming  with  giant  strides,  we  shall  see,  I  hope, 
the  extermination  of  the  speculator.     Everything  has  a 


l6o  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

real  value,  and  1  fail  to  see  why  stocks  should  attain  a 
high  fictitious  value  by  the  manoeuverings  of  a  few 
speculators.  Perhaps  I  am  very  obtuse,  but  I  never 
can  see  why  consols  should  vary  because  a  sovereign 
or  a  statesman  makes  a  speech  more  or  less  amiable. 
By  work  I  have  earned  and  put  by  one  hundred  pounds, 
which  I  lend  to  the  Government  on  condition  that  it 
pays  me  three  pounds  a  year :  for  the  life  of  me  I  can- 
not see  why  these  hundred  pounds  should  only  be  worth 
ninety-eight  pounds,  because  the  King  of  Italy  has  a  cold 
in  his  head,  or  the  Emperor  of  Germany  a  fit  of  indi- 
gestion, or  why  they  should  be  worth  a  hundred  and 
two  pounds,  because  the  Emperor  of  Russia  has  sent 
New  Year's  greetings  to  the  Sultan  of  Turkey.  These 
are  things  which  are  beyond  my  comprehension. 

Speculators  were  unknown  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago.  When  will  they  disappear  from  the  face  of  the 
earth  ? 

It  is  they  who  are  the  cause  of  the  commercial  and 
financial  crises,  which  bring  America  and  Australia  with- 
in a  hair's-breadth  of  bankruptcy  every  few  years. 

Australia  is  overrun  with  speculators  and  bookmakers, 
she  who  ought  to  have  only  farmers,  manufacturers, 
traders,  mechanics  and  laborers.  The  bookmakers 
make  as  much  as  i^20,ooo  a  year,  and  every  year  hun- 
dreds of  individuals  go  there  from  England,  hoping  to 
live  by  speculations  in  mines  and  horse-racing. 

I  can  wish  nothing  better  to  Australia  than  that  she  may 
soon  be  able  to  sweep  her  territory  of  all  such  parasites. 

The  day  she  has  the  courage  to  send  the  surplus  pop- 
ulation of  her  towns  to  fell  the  Bush  forests ;  the  day 
she  has  succeeded   in   learning  that  there  is  but  one 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  l6l 

means  of  growing  rich,  for  nation  or  for  individual,  and 
that  is  by  work  and  thrift ;  the  day  she  ceases  to  try 
and  enrich  herself  by  unhealthy  speculation,  Australia 
will  see  her  credit  firmly  established.  Disproportions 
will  melt  away,  and  with  them  all  poverty ;  the  popula- 
tion will  increase,  and  the  riches  of  the  country,  drawn 
from  regular  work,  will  become  stable. 

It  is  the  stability  of  fortunes,  and  a  seemly  distribu- 
tion of  wealth  that  makes  a  country  really  rich,  and  not 
a  few  colossal  fortunes  collected  in  a  few  pockets. 
Three-quarters  of  the  land  in  England  is  in  the  hands 
of  about  thirty  families.  In  France,  at  the  present  day, 
more  than  six  millions  of  people  are  land-owners,  and 
more  than  half  the  people  are  the  owners  of  the  houses 
they  inhabit.  This  is  why  France  is  the  richest  nation 
in  the  world.  It  is  she  who  has  the  most  masters  and 
men  working  on  their  own  account.  It  is  she  alone 
who,  thanks  to  the  order  and  economy  which  reigns 
in  the  bourgeoisie — the  shop-keeping  class  2nd  the  peas- 
antry— can  pass  through  a  commercial  crisis  and  lend 
money  to  a  foreign  government. 

The  land  was  never  intended  to  support  three  per- 
sons :  a  landlord,  a  tenant,  and  a  laborer.  Jacques 
Bonhomme  is  in  himself  a  landlord,  tenant  and  laborer, 
that  is  why  he  prospers.  His  wife  does  not  follow  the 
fashions  nor  go  in  for  the  high-hand  shake.  She  rises 
at  four  or  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  feeds  her  own 
poultry,  and  that  is  why  they  look  so  well. 

All  nations,  the  new  countries  especially,  envy  France 
her  economical  and  laborious  rural  population.  And 
well  they  may ;  it  is  Jacques  Bonhomme  and  his  good 
wife  who  are  the  fortune  of  France. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

The  Workman  Sovereign  Master  of  Australia — His  Character — 
The  Artist  and  the  Bungler — A  Sham  Democrat — Govern- 
ment by  and  for  the  Workingman — Public  Orators — Stories 
of  Workmen — End  of  the  Tragic  Story  of  a  Russian  Trav- 
eler. 

The  sovereign  ruler  of  Australia  is  neither  the  Queen 
of  England,  nor  the  Governor  appointed  by  her,  nor  the 
Parliament,  nor  the  Ministers  chosen  in  that  Parliament; 
the  sovereign  ruler  of  Australia  is  the  workingman. 

If  this  personage  were  but  content  with  his  lot,  and 
the  country  prospered  under  his  rule,  there  would  be 
little  to  be  said  against  this  arrangement ;  but,  unhap- 
pily, he  does  not  turn  to  account  the  inexhaustible  re- 
sources that  nature  has  placed  in  his  reach  on  this  im- 
mense continent,  and  he  takes  good  care  that  no  one 
else  shall  profit  by  them.  The  Australian  workman, 
still  less  interesting  than  his  English  cousin  and  con- 
frere^ is  lazy,  fond  of  drink,  a  devoted  keeper  of  Saint 
Monday,  a  spendthrift  who  thinks  only  of  his  pleasures 
and  takes  no  interest  whatever  in  the  development  of 
his  country.  He  will  throw  up  the  most  lucrative  job 
to  go  and  see  a  horse-race  a  hundred  miles  from  his 
home.  His  labor  is  purely  mercenary,  a  task  got 
through  anyhow.  He  has  served  no  apprenticeship 
worth  the  name,  received  no  technical  instruction.  He 
is  by  turns  carpenter,  locksmith,  mason,  gardener,  vine 
grower,    carter,  shearer,  and,  at  a  push,  schoolmaster. 

162 


JOHN     BULI.    &    CO.  163 

He  strikes  frequently,  but  it  is  not  in  order  to  try  and 
earn  more,  so  that  out  of  his  savings  he  may  set  up  in 
trade  or  farming.  No,  he  wants  to  gain  more  in  order 
to  be  able  to  spend  more.  He  has  no  pride  in  his 
work,  no  jealousy  about  its  quality.  He  takes  up 
enormous  wages,  which  he  spends  in  frivolity,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  year  finds  himself  just  where  he  was  before. 
A  French  gardener  is  a  botanist  ;  a  French  cabinet- 
maker is  an  artist.  The  mass  of  Anglo-Saxon  work- 
men are  bunglers,  and  have  not  the  least  artistic  in- 
stinct in  them.  It  is  not  altogether  their  fault.  There 
are  few  or  no  technical  schools  for  them  on  week  days, 
and  no  art  museums  open  on  Sundays.  The  Pecksniffs, 
the  Podsnaps,  the  Chadbands  and  all  the  Tartufes  of 
their  native  land  prevent  their  making  acquaintance 
with  the  works  of  art  that  might  elevate  them  ;  they 
know  only  sensual  pleasures,  and  when  they  hav^e  filled 
themselves  with  gin  or  whiskey  they  declare  they  have 
enjoyed  themselves. 

It  is  the  money  he  saves,  and  not  the  money  he  earns, 
which  enriches  a  man.  This  is  a  truism  which  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  workman  has  not  yet  discovered. 

At  Broken  Hill,  the  place  which  produces  more  silver 
than  any  other  in  the  world,  I  had  the  following  con- 
versation with  a  miner  who  was  out  on  strike  : 

"  The  mines  ought  to  be  nationalized  and  to  belong 
to  the  people,"  he  said.  "■  Look  at  me  ;  what  do  I  earn  .'* 
Three  pounds  a  week  !  Yet  /  go  dow^n  into  the  mines 
to  fetch  the  silver ;  /  do  the  work.  Three  pounds  a 
week  !    What  is  a  man  to  do  with  three  pounds  a  week  ?  " 

The  miner  on  strike  was  a  bachelor. 

"  Since  you  ask   me,  I  will   tell  you  what  a  man  can 


164  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

do  with  three  pounds  a  week,"  I  replied.  "  You  are 
away  here  in  a  desert ;  distractions  are  few.  You  are 
young.  Work  for  a  couple  of  years.  Spend  twenty 
shillings  a  week  and  put  by  the  other  forty.  In  one 
year's  time  you  will  have  a  hundred  pounds  saved  ;  at 
the  end  of  two  years  you  will  have  more  than  two  hun- 
dred. You  talk  of  nationalizing  the  mines.  Let  the 
five  thousand  miners  who  are  employed  here  follow  the 
advice  I  have  given  to  you,  and  in  two  years  you  might 
between  you  buy  all  the  shares,  and  the  mine  would  be 
yours.  If  you  have  not  confidence  in  the  mine,  do  not 
be  jealous  of  the  shareholders.  Buy  land,  cultivate  it 
or  run  sheep  on  it,  and  you  are  land-owners  at  once." 

If  I  had  talked  Hebrew  to  the  fellow,  he  could  not 
have  looked  at  me  more  blankly. 

''Ah!  "  he  exclaimed,  "leave  me  alone.  You  are  no 
democrat ;  you  are  no  friend  of  the  people." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  I  reti:^  ^ed  ;  "  I  am  a  thorough 
democrat.  The  man  who  h  13  not  the  self-control  to 
impose  a  few  privations  on  himself,  and  put  by  some- 
thing, inspires  not  the  slightest  sympathy  in  me.  The 
man  who,  by  his  own  fault,  possesses  nothing  is  a  slave. 
I  call  a  democrat  the  man  who  is  independent  and  his 
own  master.  The  middle  classes  have  become  a  power 
because  they  have  known  how  to  save  money.  I  would 
not  have  the  workingman  be  a  slave,  I  would  have  him 
possess  something ;  but  he  will  only  be  in  that  position 
when  he  has  learned  to  deny  himself  and  put  something 
in  reserve.  In  Europe,  the  workman  very  often  does 
not  get  the  wages  he  deserves,  and  he  is  right  to  raise 
his  voice  in  these  cases ;  but  in  Australia  it  is  his  fault 
if  at  the  end  of  a  few  years  he  is  not  independent." 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  165 

My  miner  had  already  turned  his  back. 

I  am  ready  to  acknowledge  that  the  times  are  changed, 
and  that  before  long  every  worker  will  exact  from  labor 
independence  and  an  honorable  place  in  society  ;  but  if 
the  future  belongs,  and  reasonably,  too,  to  the  worker, 
it  is  certain  that  it  will  never  belong  to  the  lazy  or  the 
thriftless. 

In  a  country  where  the  Government  sells  land  at  five 
shillings  an  acre,  payable  in  ten  years,  I  maintain  that 
every  man  w^ho  has  a  few  pounds  in  his  pocket  can  easily 
acquire  independence,  and  will  long  be  able  to,  since 
Australia  proper  has  scarcely  more  than  three  million 
inhabitants,  and  the  continent  is  large  enough  to  accom- 
modate a  population  of  more  than  fifty  millions. 

The  government  of  Australia  by  the  workingman  for 
the  workingman  is  sublimely  ridiculous.  These  Aus- 
tralian workmen  who,  for  the  most  part,  have  come  to 
Australia  at  the  expense  of  English  emigration  socie- 
ties, are  the  same  men  who  have  forced  the  Government 
to  stop  emigration.  There  are  no  more  wanted.  Aus- 
tralia belongs  to  them.  And  what  do  they  do  ?  They 
vegetate  in  Sydney  and  Melbourne,  and  the  country  cries 
aloud  for  hands  to  cultivate  it.  The  hands  are  in  the 
cities,  with  their  arms  folded,  loafing  about  the  public- 
houses  and  street-corners.  The  squatters  are  obliged  to 
use  their  land  in  grazing  cattle  and  sheep,  which  there 
is  often  no  market  for,  because  one  man  can  look  after 
thousands  of  sheep,  but  agriculture  demands  many 
laborers.  If  Australia  were  peopled  with  intelligent 
and  hard-working  cultivators  of  the  soil,  it  might  be  the 
granary  of  the  universe.  Here  and  there  you  see  a 
flourishing  farm  which  has  been  made  and  developed  in 


l66  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

a  few  years.  You  find  it  belongs  to  a  German  or  a 
Swede.  Near  the  towns  you  constantly  see  kitchen- 
gardens  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  Not  an  inch  of 
the  ground  is  wasted.  In  a  corner  of  this  garden  is  a 
hut  occupied  by  the  patient,  hard-working  Chinaman, 
whom  the  Australian  despises,  but  whom  he  would  do 
much  better  to  imitate.  The  Chinaman  is  sober,  minds 
his  own  business  and  gets  up  no  strikes ;  he  goes  on  his 
jog-trot  way  ;  he  owns  a  horse  and  a  little  cart,  and  every 
year  sends  home  to  his  country  the  money  that  he  has 
saved  by  sheer  hard  labor. 

Meanwhile  the  workman  of  Sydney  goes  to  Hyde 
Park  to  listen  to  the  inanities,  the  balderdash  given  ofif 
by  a  lot  of  ragged  wind-bags,  professional  loafers,  para- 
sites whom  the  new  communities  of  the  far  wxst  of 
America  would  chase  ignominiously  from  their  midst. 
And  what  harangues  !  I  remember  one  great  fellow  with 
a  low  forehead  and  an  immense  mouth,  with  nonchal- 
ant gestures  and  a  drunkard's  voice,  a  ne'er-do-weel  of 
the  worst  type,  who  bawled  forth  a  discourse  on  Authoru 
tatism. 

The  crowd  stood  around  open-mouthed  and  staring 
their  eyes  out  with  trying  to  understand.  The  conceited 
idiot  was  so  proud  of  the  word  that  his  mouth  was  full 
of  it,  and  he  repeated  it  at  every  instant.  Presently  one 
of  the  crowd  politely  asked  the  orator  to  spell  the  word 
and  explain  what  it  meant ;  he  was  ignominiously  ex- 
pelled from  the  circle. 

^'  Authoritatisni,"'  cried  the  ranter,  "that  is  the  source 
of  all  the  mischief.  Strikes  are  the  only  remedy."  And 
as  those  who  were  listening  to  him  had  already  all 
struck,  and  thus  killed  the  goose  that  laid  the  golden 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  167 

eggs,  he  advised  them  to  devour  what  remained,  namely 
the  goose. 

If  a  loafer  like  this  made  a  speech  of  that  kind  in 
Texas,  Colorado,  or  any  of  the  Western  States,  the 
population,  not  the  authorities,  would  give  him  twenty- 
four  hours  to  find  some  honest  employment  or  quit.  If 
at  the  end  of  twenty-four  hours  he  had  done  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other,  he  would  run  the  risk  of  seeing  him- 
self suddenly  promoted  to  an  elevated  position — at  the 
top  of  a  tree.  Western  America  is  a  hive  of  bees,  and 
no  drones  are  allowed  to  establish  themselves  there  to 
create  disorder  and  preach  laziness. 

The  workman  is  loud  in  his  demand  for  cooperation. 
But  is  it  he  who  invents  machines  or  buys  them  ?  Is  it 
he  who  risks  his  money  in  enterprises  which  may  or  may 
not  succeed  ?  He  is  willing  to  share  the  profits,  but  he  is 
not  willing  to  run  the  risks.  He  demands  that  disputes 
between  capital  and  labor  be  settled  by  arbitration. 
Very  good  ;  but,  suppose  that  the  arbitrators  give  a  case 
against  him,  he  goes  straightway  to  his  companions  and 
cries,  "  T  have  lost,  and  you  call  that  arbitration,  do 
you  r 

Oh,  the  number  of  stories  of  workmen  that  were  told 
me  in  Australia  ! 

A  journeyman-gardener,  who  had  long  been  out  of 
work,  presented  himself  at  the  house  of  a  Melbournian, 
and  asked  for  employment. 

*'  I  have  nothing  to  give  you  to  do  just  now  ;  however, 
since  you  are  in  want,  you  may  tidy  my  garden." 

A  few  hours  would  have  amply  sufficed  for  the  work. 
The  man  spent  two  days  raking  the  garden,  and  clip- 
ping a  few  trees,  which  did  not  need  touching. 


1 68  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

This  being  done,  the  Melbournian,  who  had  employed 
the  man  out  of  pure  charity,  handed  him  twelve  shil- 
lings. "  What's  that  ?  "  cried  the  workman,  indignantly. 
"  Don't  you  know  that  a  gardener's  pay  is  seven  and 
sixpence  a  day,  and  not  six  shillings?  You  are  trying 
to  take  advantage  of  my  misfortune.  I  do  not  work  for 
less  than  seven  and  sixpence  a  day." 

The  Melbournian  vowed,  but  a  little  ^ate,  that  he 
would  not  be  caught  again. 

The  Australian  squatter  is  at  the  mercy  of  the  labor- 
ers and  shearers  he  employs.  Some  of  these  gentry  do 
not  even  recognize  themselves  as  bound  by  a  contract. 
A  vine-grower  had  engaged  twenty  workmen  to  proceed 
with  his  grape  harvest.  When  the  grapes  were  gathered, 
the  workmen  said  to  their  employer :  "  Now,  we  want 
ten  shillings  a  day  instead  of  eight.  If  you  do  not  give 
us  these  terms,  we  shall  leave  off  work  to-day,  and  let 
your  grapes  rot  on  the  ground."  The  land-owner 
ploughed  up  his  vines  in  disgust,  and  this  is  not  a  soli- 
tary case  by  any  means.  Where  the  vines  flourished  a 
few  sheep  are  now  grazing. 

Meanwhile  the  w^orkman  loafs  about  the  large  towns, 
and  listens  to  harangues  on  the  tyranny  of  the  squatter. 

Maid-servants  earn  from  four  to  six  pounds  a  month, 
yet  for  the  least  trifle  they  leave  their  situations,  and 
complain  of  ill-usage.  The  only  remedy  for  the  evil 
would  be  the  reestablishment  of  polygamy.  An  Aus- 
tralian wife,  like  the  wife  of  the  Zulu,  would  say  to  her 
husband,  "  Really,  John,  I  have  too  much  on  my  hands, 
it  is  time  you  married  another  housemaid." 

Alas,  one  hears  of  evils  everywhere,  but  of  very  few 
remedies.     Each   has  his  program  of  destruction,  but 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  169 

no  one  has  a  program  of  construction.      I   think  we 
are  very  near  the  end  of  our  patience. 

A  well-known  socialist,  at  a  public  banquet,  was  com- 
paring the  modern  workman  to  the  wolves  in  the  famous 
Russian  story. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  *'  the  man  was  in  a  sleigh  with  his  wife 
and  his  children.  Soon  they  were  pursued  by  hungry 
wolves.  To  appease  them  the  man  threw  them  his  pro- 
visions. The  wolves  seized  the  provisions  and  devoured 
them,  and  then  they  joined  together  again  in  their  pur- 
suit of  the  traveler.  He  threw  them  one  child,  then 
another,  then  his  wife.  But  still  the  wolves  pursued, 
and  devoured  the  man  and  the  horses.  Well,  gentlemen, 
the  workingmen  accept  your  concessions,  but  I  am  too 
honest  not  to  tell  you  that  these  concessions  will  not 
satisfy  them.  They  will  demand  again,  and  continue  to 
demand  until  they  have  obtained  everything." 

He  laid  great  stress  upon  everything. 

In  other  words,  the  man  of  the  middle  class  has  been 
a  tyrant,  and  now  it  is  the  workingman  who  is  going  to 
tyrannize  in  his  turn. 

The  socialist  in  question  had  related  the  story  of  the 
Russian  traveler  very  well.  But  he  might  have  ended 
it.     I  will  end  it  for  him  : 

It  is  true  that  the  wolves  devoured  the  traveler's  pro- 
visions, his  children,  and  his  wife,  also  that  they  devoured 
him  and  his  horses.  But  they  did  not  stop  there.  They 
wanted  to  begin  again  next  day,  but  at  the  turn  of  a 
road  they  met  with  a  hundred  armed  men,  who  put  an 
end  to  their  insatiable  pretensions. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


The  Religions  of  the  Colonies — The  Catholic  Church  and  its 
Work — The  Baptists  and  the  Sweet  Shops — Good  News 
for  the  Little  Ones — A  Presbyterian  Landlady  in  Difficulties 
— I  Give  a  Presbyterian  Minister  his  Deserts — Christian  As- 
sociation of  Good  Young  Men — The  Big  Drum  or  the 
Church  at  the  Fair — Pious  Bankers — An  Edifying  Prayer. 

According  to  the  latest  statistics  published  with 
authority  of  the  Government,  this  is  how  Australia 
stands  with  regard  to  the  religions  professed  by  the  in- 
habitants : 

Anglicans, 
Catholics, 
Presbyterians, 
Wesleyan  Methodists, 
Primitive  Methodists, 
Other  Methodists,     . 
Congregationalists, 
Baptists, 
Lutherans, 
Salvationists, 
Jews, 

Buddhists,  Mohammedans,  etc.. 
Other  religions,  that  is  to  say,  the 
hundred  and  one  other  dissenting 

Persons  who  refused  to  say  to  what 

religion  they  belonged, 

170 


•                                  • 

39.10 

• 

.   21. IC 

•                                  • 

13- 

• 

•     9-50 

•                             • 

1.60 

• 

.    0.30 

•                             • 

2.10 

• 

.     2,30 

•                             • 

2. 

• 

.     1. 10 

•                             * 

0.40 

ns,  etc.. 

1.20 

4.20 


2.10 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


171 


In   New  South  Wales,  the  population  of  which  col- 
ony is  1,130,216,  the  numbers  are  as  follows : 


Anglicans, 

509*283 

Catholics,     . 

286,915 

Presbyterians,    . 

109,383 

Wesleyan  Methodists, 

97.487 

Primitive  Methodists,    . 

20,352 

Other  Methodists,  . 

2,269 

Congregationalists, 

24,112 

Baptists, 

13,102 

Lutherans, 

7,904 

Salvationists, 

10,312 

Jews,       .             .             .             , 

5.484 

Buddhists,    Mohammedans, 

10,790 

Other  religions, 

28,730 

Religion  unknown, 

14,093 

Total,         1,130,216 

One  cannot  but  be  struck,  on  reading  this  list,  by  the 
progress  made  and  the  importance  acquired  by  the  Cath- 
olic religion  in  the  English  Colonies.  This  importance 
had  also  struck  me  in  Canada,  the  United  States,  and 
the  Pacific  Islands.  And  yet,  there  is  nothing  aston- 
ishing about  it,  when  one  thinks  how  easy  it  must  have 
been  for  those  charitable  and  devoted  priests,  who  con- 
secrate soul  and  body  to  the  service  of  the  poor  and 
unhappy,  and  to  the  education  and  placing  out  of  their 
children,  to  win  converts  among  the  struggling  colo- 
nists, hungry  for  sympathy,  and  always  ready  to  open 
their  hearts  to  those  who  lead,  like  themselves,  a  life  of 
privations  and  sacrifices.  The  life  of  these  priests  is  so 
exemplary,  that  Australians  of  all  creeds  speak  of  them 


172  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

with  the  greatest  respect,  and  when  they  indulge  in 
criticisms  or  jokes  on  the  clergy,  it  is  never  at  the  ex- 
pense of  a  Catholic  priest. 

The  clergy  of  the  Anglican  church,  that  aristocratic 
and  worldly  institution,  do  not  attract  the  masses.  As 
a  rule,  they  themselves  seek  the  best  society. 

The  pastors  of  the  hundred  and  eighty  and  odd  dis- 
senting churches  rival  one  another  in  angular  and  intoler- 
ant piety,  expending  their  energies  in  disputing  over 
the  interpretation  of  certain  passages  of  Scripture, 
enemies  of  the  most  innocent  gaiety,  business  men  on 
the  look-out  for  an  income  to  maintain  a  family,  often 
large  ;  how  could  such  men  compete  for  the  affection 
and  respect  of  the  masses  with  the  Catholic  priests,  full 
of  the  naVve  gaiety,  the  innocent  good  humor,  and  the 
simple  candor  which  are  so  often  found  in  people  who 
pass  their  lives  in  contributing  to  the  happiness  of 
others,  and  in  leading  a  life  of  complete  self-abnegation 
and  untiring  devotion. 

But  if  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  Colonies  inspires  a 
French  visitor  with  nothing  but  respect  and  admiration, 
and  the  English  Church  with  sentiments  of  respect  and 
indifference,  all  the  little  dissenting  sects  furnish  ample 
materials  for  edification  and  amusement. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  1892,  I  read  the  follow^ing  in  the 
Melbourne  Argus: 

"  The  opening  of  fruit  and  confectionery  shops  on 
Sunday,  at  which  children  spend  the  money  given  them 
by  their  parents  to  put  in  the  missionary  boxes  at  Sunday- 
school,  was  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  half-yearly 
session  of  the  Baptist  Association  of  Victoria  yesterday 
by  the  Rev.   Edward  Isaac,   who  moved :    *  That  this 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  1 73 

Association  views  with  the  deepest  regret  the  way  the 
missionary  money,  given  to  the  Sunday-school  children 
by  the  parents  for  a  specific  purpose,  is  so  largely  di- 
verted from  the  proper  channel,  owing  to  the  Sunday 
opening  of  fruit  and  confectionery  shops.  Further, 
that  this  Association  would,  with  all  earnestness,  re- 
spectfully urge  the  remedying  of  this  crying  evil  (sic) 
upon  the  attention  of  the  Government,  by  passing  a 
statute  making  the  closing  of  the  aforesaid  shops  com- 
pulsory between  the  hours  of  two  and  four  o'clock  on 
Sunday  afternoon.'  The  resolution  was  seconded,  and 
carried  unanimously." 

This  is  protection  with  a  vengeance. 

In  the  same  paper  was  the  report  of  a  Chinaman  hav- 
ing been  condemned  to  pay  a  fine  of  half  a  crown  for 
having  worked  in  his  kitchen  garden  on  Sunday.  In 
order  to  condemn  him,  the  magistrate  had  had  to  un- 
earth an  old  unrepealed  edict  made  in  the  days  of 
Charles  II.,  the  Merry  Monarch  of  burlesque  reputa- 
tion. 

During  my  sojourn  in  Canada,  a  butcher  of  Montreal 
was  condemned  to  pay  a  fine  of  eight  dollars  for  not 
having  knelt  during  divine  service.  It  appeared  that 
the  poor  fellow  suffered  from  rheumatism  ;  but  this  did 
not  exempt  him  in  the  eyes  of  his  judge. 

Would  you  not  think  we  were  living  in  the  days  of 
the  Inquisition  instead  of  in  the  end  of  the  nineteenth 
century  ?  After  this,  can  you  ask  whether  the  Colonies 
are  progressionist  countries  ? 

The  best  is  yet  to  tell. 

A  few  days  before  leaving  Canada,  I  saw  in  the  papers 
that  the  Presbyterians  had  assembled   in  solemn  con- 


1/4  JOHN    BULI.    &    CO. 

clave  to  expunge  from  their  profession  of  faith  the  arti- 
cle on  infant  damnation.  The  motion  was  carried  in 
spite  of  violent  opposition.  Poor  dear  little  babies — 
whom  the  old  article  of  the  Presbyterian  faith  made  it 
so  hot  for — rejoice,  for  you  have  been  accorded  a  chance 
to  reform. 

I  am  not  responsible  for  the  following,  which  was  told 
me — not  by  a  Presbyterian. 

The  keeper  of  a  lodging-house,  a  lady  with  very  de- 
cided Presbyterian  views,  only  opened  her  house  to 
those  whose  orthodoxy  was  as  unquestionable  as  her 
own.  However,  business  flagged  somewhat,  the  house 
was  half  empty,  and  she  pondered  over  many  things. 
''  Perhaps  business  would  mend  if  I  relaxed  my  views  a 
little,"  she  said  to  herself. 

One  day  an  old  gentleman  presents  himself  at  the 
door,  looks  at  the  apartments,  and  makes  choice  of  some 
rooms. 

"  Excuse  me,"  says  the  landlady  ;  "before  anything  is 
decided,  I  must  know  whether  you  are  a  strict  Presby- 
terian ?  " 

"  I  scarcely  understand  what  you  mean,"  replied  the 
worthy  man. 

*'  Well,  for  instance,  do  you  believe  that  all  children 
who  die  unbaptized  will  be  eternally  burnt  ?  " 

"  Upon  my  word,"  says  the  new  lodger,  his  memory 
perhaps  alighting  upon  some  unruly  little  imp  of  his  ac- 
quaintance, "  I  should  scarcely  like  to  say  all,  but  some 
will,  no  doubt." 

"  I  will  let  you  the  rooms,"  replied  the  good  woman  ; 
^^  some  is  scarcely  to  my  liking,  but  at  all  events  that  is 
better  than  none." 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  175 

And  now  let  us  take  a  taste  of  Presbyterianism  in  a 
New  Zealand  town. 

I  had  just  returned  to  the  hotel  after  having  given  a 
lecture  on  the  Scotch,  at  the  Town-hall.  I  was  half  un- 
dressed, when  there  came  a  knock  at  my  bedroom  door. 
It  was  a  waiter  bearing  a  card  ;  the  Presbyterian  min- 
ister of  the  town  wished  to  see  me  at  once  on  a  very 
urgent  matter.  I  bid  the  waiter  show  the  reverend 
gentleman  up. 

A  man  of  about  fifty,  in  the  usual  black  ecclesiastical 
coat  and  white  cravat,  and  holding  a  soft  felt  hat,  ap- 
peared in  the  doorway,  wearing  a  sad  face. 

I  recognized  him  at  once  as  one  of  my  audience  that 
evening.  For  a  whole  hour  and  a  half  I  had  vainly  tried 
to  make  him  smile.  He  was  on  the  first  row.  Those 
wet  blankets  always  are. 

"  Excuse  my  costume,"  I  began  ;  "  but  you  wished  to 
speak  to  me  on  urgent  business,  and  I  thought  best  not 
to  make  you  wait." 

"  There  is  nothing  the  matter  with  your  dress,"  he 
broke  in ;  "  this  is  not  an  affair  of  the  body,  but  of  the 
soul.     I  have  come  to  pray  for  you  ;  allow  me  to  kneel." 

I  was  taken  a  little  by  surprise,  and  felt  a  trifle  dis- 
countenanced, but  I  quickly  regained  composure. 

*'  Why,  certainly,"  I  said  ;  "  with  the  greatest  pleas- 
ure, if  it  can  make  you  happy." 

He  knelt,  put  his  elbows  on  the  bed,  buried  his  head 
in  his  hands,  and  began — 

*'  Lord,  this  man  whom  Thou  seest  near  me  is  not  a 
sinful  man  ;  he  is  suffering  from  the  evil  of  the  century  ; 
he  has  not  been  touched  by  Thy  grace  ;  he  is  a  stranger, 
come  from  a  country  where  religion  is  turned  to  ridicule. 


176  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

Grant  that  his  travels  through  our  godly  lands  may  bring 
him  into  the  narrow  way  that  leads  to  everlasting  life." 

The  prayer,  most  of  which  I  spare  you,  lasted  at  least 
ten  minutes. 

When  he  had  finished  my  visitor  rose  and  held  out 
his  hand. 

I  shook  it. 

"And  now,"  said  I,  "allow  me  to  pray  for  you  in  my 
turn." 

He  signified  consent  by  a  movement  of  the  hand. 

I  did  not  go  on  my  knees,  but  with  all  the  fervor 
that  is  in  me,  I  cried — 

"  Lord,  this  man  whom  Thou  seest  beside  me  is  not 
a  sinful  man.  Have  mercy  upon  him,  for  he  is  a  Phari- 
see, who  doubts  not  for  one  moment,  and  that  without 
knowing  me,  that  he  is  better  than  I.  Thou  who  hast 
sent  in  vain  Thy  Son  on  earth  to  cast  out  the  Pharisees, 
let  Thy  grace  descend  upon  this  one  ;  teach  him  that  the 
foremost  Christian  virtue  is  charity,  and  that  the  great- 
est charity  is  that  which  teaches  us  that  we  are  no  bet- 
ter than  our  brethren.  This  man  is  blinded  by  pride  ; 
convince  him,  open  his  eyes,  pity  him  and  forgive  him, 
even  as  I  also  forgive  him.     Amen." 

I  looked  at  my  good  Presbyterian.  He  was  rooted 
to  the  lioor,  amazement  written  on  his  face. 

I  once  more  took  his  hand  and  shook  it. 

"  And  now,"  said  I,  "  we  are  quits.     Good  night." 

He  went  away  somewhat  abashed,  pocketing  the  mild 
reproof  as  modestly  as  he  could. 

Here,  again,  is  something  in  the  same  line  which  is 
not  unedifying: 

In  the  month  of  May,  1892,  I  gave  fourteen  lectures 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  1/7 

at  the  Centenary  Hall  in  Sydney,  a  very  pretty  hall  be- 
longing to  a  Wesleyan  Society,  who  had  let  it  to  us  for 
the  purpose.  I  shall  never  forget  the  reception  that 
the  Sydney  people  gave  me  in  that  hall.  Never  did  I 
address  a  warmer,  more  intelligent,  or  more  sympathet- 
ic audience.  In  October  of  the  same  year  I  returned 
to  Sydney,  on  the  very  day  that  France  lost  the  great- 
est prose  writer  of  the  century,  Ernest  Renan.  I  had 
known  the  illustrious  writer ;  more  than  once  had  he 
given  me  the  benefit  of  his  counsel,  more  than  once 
had  he  cheered  me  with  encouraging  words.*  I  was 
asked  to  give  a  lecture  on  him.  To  speak  the  eulogy 
of  Renan,  to  talk  of  his  life  ;  nd  his  work  to  the  people 
of  Sydney,  th>s  appeared  to  me  an  opportunity  of  pay- 
ing a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  memory  of  this  man  of 
genius.  I  accepted  with  joy.  My  manager  again  hired 
the  Centenary  Hall ;  the  public  filled  it  in  every  part, 
and  the  press  next  day  joined  its  applause  to  that  of 
the  public. 

The  lecture  was  such  a  success,  that  I  was  requested 
to  repeat  it,  and  again  I  agreed  with  alacrity.  But 
alas !  this  lecture  had  not  satisfied  every  one,  and  we 
had  raised  the  most  terrible  and  the  most  unforgiving 
of  all  wraths — the  wrath  of  the  bigots. 

A  member  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
of  Sydney  went  to  the  secretary  of  the  Centenary  Hall, 
and  represented  the  danger  that  the  reputation  of  the 
Wesleyan  Society  was  running  in  allowing  the  hall  to 

*It  was  Renan  who  had  made  me  happy  one  day,  by  saying  to  me, 
"  I  have  read  your  John  Bull  et  son  lie,  and  although  I  laughed 
heartily  at  the  eccentricities  that  you  describe,  your  volume  has 
made  me  love  the  English  better." 


1/8  JOHN     BULL    He    CO. 

be  used  for  giving  a  panegyric  on  Renan,  an  "  atheist," 
the  author  of  the  Vic  dc  J^sus.  This  amiable  person 
had  (it  may  be  said  in  parenthesis)  received  a  free  pass 
to  all  my  lectures. 

The  secretary  of  the  Centenary  Hr  '1  thought  it  his 
duty  to  protest.  Thanks  be,  my  manager  held  him  to 
his  engagement,  and  the  lecture  on  Renan  was  re- 
peated with  all  the  success  that  had  attended  its  first 
delivery. 

Ah,  heaven  knows  how  I  myself  would  have  liked  to 
protest  against  having  to  speak  of  Ernest  Renan,  that 
giant  of  grace  and  power,  in  a  hall  devoted  twice  a 
week  to  the  worship  rendered  by  a  sect  who  have  nar- 
rowed the  Divinity,  the  Incomprehensible,  down  to 
their  comprehension. 

What  did  Renan  demand  all  his  life  long,  if  it  was 
not  the  liberty  to  compose  for  himself  the  romance  of 
the  infinite,  and  the  liberty  to  discuss  every  religious 
question  ?  Is  not  this  Protestantism  in  its  very  essence  ? 
The  intolerance  of  certain  dissenters  is  veritably  epic. 
Here  are  people  who  exist  simply  because  their  ances- 
tors in  days  gone  by  combated  for  liberty  of  con- 
science, but  who,  now  that  the  battle  is  won,  have  be- 
come intolerant  even  to  the  point  of  refusing  to  others 
that  liberty  to  think,  to  act,  and  to  discuss — in  fact,  the 
liberty  to  which  they  themselves  owe  their  existence. 

And,  setting  aside  the  religious  question,  was  there 
ever  a  man  who  lived  a  purer  life  than  that  of  Renan, 
more  perfectly  consecrated  to  the  search  after  truth 
and  the  amelioration  of  the  human  race  ? 

But  what  did  they  know  of  Renan,  these  narrow 
Christians,  and  the  good  young  man  who,  after  having 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  1 79 

accepted  favors  from  my  manager,  played  him  this 
trick  of  a  sneak  behind  his  back  ? 

The  intolerance  of  these  people  is  beyond  concep- 
tion. When  I  arrived  at  Maitland,  a  rather  important 
town  in  New  South  Wales,  the  Mayor  and  the  Town 
Council  were  kind  enough  to  give  me  a  welcome  in  the 
Town-hall,  and  drink  my  health  in  a  glass  of  cham- 
pagne. Among  the  townspeople  who  had  accepted  an 
invitation  to  the  little  gathering,  was  the  vicar  of  the 
chief  church,  a  charming,  genial  man. 

Next  day  several  dissenters  of  the  ^lown  (I  do  not 
remember  whether  they  were  Wesleyans,  Socinians, 
Baptists,  Lutherans,  Presbyterians,  Swedenborgians, 
Plymouth  Brethren,  very  certainly  they  were  not  Chris- 
tians), several  dissenters,  I  say,  attacked  the  vicar,  with 
all  the  energy  of  bigots,  "  for  having  taken  part  in  a 
reception  given  in  honor  of  a  man  whose  lectures  were 
announced  in  the  papers  under  the  name  of  Comedy 
Lectures  "  {sic^. 

"  Ah,"  said  an  Australian,  ''  unco  guid,"  to  me  one 
day,  with  a  deep  sigh,  *'  you  French  do  not  pass  the 
Sunday  in  prayer  as  we  do." 

**  No,"  I  replied  ;  "  in  France  we  have  not  to  pass 
every  seventh  day  in  repenting  of  what  we  have  done 
during  the  other  six.     Take  that !  " 

And  now,  for  the  final  touch,  allow  me  to  reproduce 
here  the  advertisement  of  a  sermon  which  I  extracted 
from  the  advertisement  column  of  a  New  Zealand  paper. 

'*  ///  response  to  muneroiis  requests^ 

the  Rev.  Pastor  B.  will,  on  Sunday  next,  deliver  a  ser- 
mon on  the  Vanity  of  Life's  Pleasures." 


l8o  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

There  were  elaborate  instructions  about  reserved 
seats,  and  entrance  by  side-doors.  Then  followed  a 
synopsis  of  the  performance,  which  read  very  much 
like  a  Surrey-side  play-bill — 

1.  "The  Pulpit  Upset!" 

2.  "  Deliver  or  Die  !  " 

3.  "God  in  the  Mansion  House  !  " 

4.  "  Running  his  Horse  for  the  Cup.' 

5.  "  What !  Dear  Lord,  have  you  come  for  me  ?  " 

6.  "  The  Corpse  on  the  Bed." 

7.  "  The  Good  Angel  at  the  Lamp-post  !  " 

8.  "  Seen  in  a  Dancing-room^ 

9.  "  Nothing  but  what  I  stand  in." 

10.  "A  Cannibal  Song  will  be  sung  by  the  Tabernacle 
Choir." 
■  >  The  line,  Nothing  but  zuhat  I  stand  in^  suggested  the 
idea  of  a  young  Maori  girl  attired  in  a  few  cowrie 
beads,  for  in  parenthesis  was  added,  "  Very  delicate 
business." 

It  was  a  brilliant  idea  to  terminate  the  performance 
with  a  cannibal  song  by  the  Tabernacle  choir. 

Bang-bang,  beat  the  big  drum,  walk  up,  ladies  and 
gentlemen. 

The  Rev.  Pastor  in  question  was  good  enough  to 
send  me  a  ticket. 

He  thought  to  do  me  a  politeness,  no  doubt.  May 
heaven  reward  him  ! 

Under  the  heading  of  Signs  of  the  Times,  I  read 
the  following  paragraph  in  the  Sydney  Methodist 
Ga:;ette : — "There  has  been  formed  in  our  town  a 
Bankers*  Christian  Association,  the  president  of  which, 
a   Methodist  minister,  was  formerly  a  bank   manager. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  l8l 

The  directors,  managers,  and  clerks  meet  together 
twice  a  week  for  prayer  and  the  study  of  the  Bible. 
One  of  the  principal  banks  of  Sydney  is  so  well  known 
for  the  piety  of  its  directors  and  employes^  that  it  is 
often  mentioned  under  the  name  of  the  Christian  Bank." 

And  the  week  after,  the  incorrigible  Bulletin  had 
the  following  in  its  own  characteristic  style  : 

"  '  A  sign  of  the  times  !  '  Yes  !  Also,  it  is  character- 
istic of  the  average  '  follow'er '  that  his  cash  won't 
square,  and  that  he  goes  away  the  night  before  the 
audit.  The  BULLETIN  doesn't  want  to  make  any 
trouble  at  present,  so  it  refrains  from  giving  the  name 
of  the  bank,  but  some  day,  perhaps,  this  paper  will 
point  out  the  institution  in  question,  and  then  there 
will  be  a  mad  rush  of  depositors,  and  the  manrjement 
will  have  to  heave  the  earnest  followers  down  the  front 
steps  to  pacify  the  raging  mob." 

The  fact  is  that  the  "  Christian  "  banker  is  celebrated 
for  directing  his  eyes  towards  heaven  and  his  steps 
towards  the  frontier. 

Poor  Australian  bankers  !  A  fortnight  after  I  left 
Australia,  more  than  half  the  colonial  banks  failed 
one  after  another.  Never  did  such  a  panic  seize  the 
financial  world.  A  crash  had  been  long  foreseen  ;  but 
the  most  pessimistic  of  the  prophets  of  evil  scarcely  ex- 
pected a  collapse  so  rapid. 

Among  Anglo-Saxons  the  most  tragic  scenes  are 
generally  accompanied  by  very  comic  ones.  As  in 
Shakespeare,  the  sublime  and  the  ridiculous,  tragedy 
and  farce,  go  hand  in  hand. 

It  was  the  Anglican  Bishop  of  Sydney,  Protestant 
Primate   of  Australia,  \\\\o  took  it  upon  him  to  strike 


l82  JOHN    lUlLL    &    CO. 

the  comic  note.  Every  one  knows  that  in  .1  time  of 
pubhc  calamity,  in  England  or  the  Colonies,  it  is 
incumbent  upon  the  Primate  to  compose  a  special 
prayer  for  the  use  of  the  faithful,  a  prayer  to  appease 
the  wrath  of  heaven.  The  Common  Prayer-Book  con- 
tains, it  is  true,  an  endless  number  of  special  prayers, 
for  rain,  for  fine  weather,  for  peace,  for  the  harvest, 
etc.;  but  the  men  who  put  these  together  did  not  fore- 
see such  things  as  financial  panics,  and  the  Bishop  of 
Sydney  had  to  compose  something  new  and  suitable 
for  the  occasion. 

Here  is  the  prayer  that  he  evolved,  and  which  was 
used  in  the  church  and  in  the  family,  in  the  year  of 
grace  1893,  that  is  to  say,  at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth 
century — 

*'  O  Almighty  God,  whose  righteous  providence  or- 
dereth  all  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  we  beseech  Thee 
to  have  mercy  upon  us  as  a  people  in  this  time  of  finan- 
cial distress  and  difficulty.  We  humble  ourselves 
before  Thee,  and  confess  that  we  have  often  cared  too 
much  for  mere  earthly  prosperity,  and  have  not  sought 
as  our  first  object  Thy  Kingdom  and  Thy  righteous- 
ness. From  all  covetous  and  selfish  desires,  and  from 
inordinate  love  of  riches,  deliver  us,  we  pray  Thee ; 
increase  in  our  land  that  righteousness  which  exalteth 
a  nation  ;  and  remove,  by  the  inworking  of  Thy  Holy 
Spirit,  all  ^hat  now  hinders  the  spread  of  godliness, 
equity,  and  concord  among  us.  Grant  this,  we  beseech 
Thee,  for  the  glorv  of  Thy  holy  name,  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Savioui.     Amen." 

With  the  first  sentence  omitted,  this  prayer  would 
read  like  an  invocation   to  heaven  to  punish  the  Aus- 


JOHN     BULL    &    CO.  T83 

tralians  for  their  avarice,  their  selfishness,  and  their 
greed  of  money,  by  sending  a  financial  crisis.  As  it 
stands,  the  only  way  in  which  I  can  read  it  is  as 
follows  : 

*'  Almighty  God,  whose  divine  providence  ordereth 
the  rise  and  fall  of  the  markets,  we  humbly  approach 
Thy  throne  to  promise  Thee  that  if  Thou  wilt  reestab- 
lish confidence,  cause  the  banks  to  reopen  their  doors, 
and  the  shareholders  to  receive  good  dividends,  we  will 
try  to  cure  ourselves  of  avarice,  selfishness,  and  greed 
of  money." 

What  an  easy,  comfortable  religion  is  that  of  certain 
Anglo-Saxons,  who,  satisfied  that  the  Divinity  has 
nothing  to  do  but  look  after  His  peculiar  people,  are 
forever  putting  up  petitions  in  which  are  set  forth  all 
their  little  wishes  and  wants. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Australian  Newpapers — The  Large  Dailies — Weekly  Edi- 
tions—  The  Australasian — The  Comic  Papers — The  Society 
Papers — The  Jhilletin. 

Of  all  the  achiev^ements  which  Australia  can  justly 
boast  of,  there  is  not  one  which  surpasses  what  she  has 
accomplished  in  the  way^  of  journalism. 

I  do  not  know,  in  Europe  or  in  America,  any  papers 
which  have  more  serious  value  than  many  which  are 
published  daily  in  Victoria  and  New  South  Wales  :  the 
Argus  and  the  Age  in  Melbourne,  the  Morning  Herald 
and  the  Daily  Telegraph  in  Sydney.  These  papers, 
composed  of  eight,  and  sometimes  ten,  large  pages,  are 
sold  at  a  penny,  and  are  from  every  point  of  view  as 
well  edited  and  as  well  informed  as  the  Daily  Nezvs, 
Daily  Telegraph,  the  Standard  and  the  Daily  Chroniele 
of  London.  They  have  not  perhaps  the  literary  value 
of  the  Journal  des  Debdts  or  of  the  Paris  Figaro,  but 
they  are  much  more  complete  in  the  matter  of  news. 
They  strike  a  happy  medium  between  the  English  daily 
papers  and  the  American  ones,  being  less  sensational  in 
style  than  the  latter,  but  decidely  brighter  in  tone  than 
the  former. 

One  wonders  with  amazement  how  a  country  so  young 
can  keep  alive,  and  even  richly  flourishing,  such  daily 
papers  as  these,  besides  numerous  and  excellent  even- 
ing papers,  such  as  the  Evening  Netvs,  the  Echo,  and  the 
Star,  in  Sydney  ;  the  Standard  and  the  Herald  in  Mel- 

184 


JOHN    PULL    &    CO.  185 

bourne.  The  Melbourne  Age  was  printing  a  hundred 
thousand  copies  a  day  when  I  was  in  AustraHa ;  and 
when  one  of  the  partners  withdrew,  the  sum  that  had  to 
be  paid  to  him  was  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds 
sterHng.  It  is  really  impossible  to  overpraise  the  spirit 
of  activity  that  has  rendered  such  papers  an  absolute 
necessity. 

Adelaide  and  Brisbane  also  have  very  good  news- 
papers—  the  Register  and  the  Advertiser  in  the  first- 
named  city,  the  Courier  and  the  Telegraph  in  the 
second. 

In  New  Zealand,  too,  you  find  first-class  papers  ;  at  the 
head  of  the  list  are  the  Atickland Herald,  the  Times ,  the 
Posty  and  the  Press,  of  Wellington  ;  the  Times  and  the 
Press  of  Christchurch,  and  the  Otago  Times  of  Dunedin. 

Most  of  these  papers  publish  a  special  weekly  edition, 
which  attains  colossal  proportions.  Among  these  the 
palm  must  be  given  to  the  Australasian,  published  every 
Saturday  by  the  Melbourne  Argus  Company.  In  the 
editing,  the  importance,  the  interest,  and  quantity  of  the 
matter  printed,  it  is  di]ouYn3.\\st\ctour  de  foree,  and  noth- 
ing less.  The  Town  and  Country  Jourfial,  the  Mail,  the 
Leader,  are  also  most  remarkable  weekly  publications. 

Scientific  and  literary  papers,  comic  papers,  among 
which  must  be  mentioned  the  Melbourne  Puneh,  relig- 
ious papers,  and  agricultural  journals — all  interests  are 
represented. 

For  local  news,  every  suburb,  every  little  town,  has 
its  newspaper-  I  have  seen  them  in  little  towns  of  a 
few  hundred  inhabitants  ;  every  man  makes  it  his  duty 
to  buy  them,  and,  better  still,  there  are  some  who  make 
it  a  duty  to  read  them. 


1 86  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

I  pass  over  a  number  of  so-called  Society  papers,  which 
interest  me  but  Httle.  However,  mention  must  be  made 
of  the  Bulletin  of  Sydney.  In  its  way,  it  is  the  most 
scathing,  most  daring,  the  wittiest,  the  most  impudent 
and  best  edited  paper  I  know.  Nothing  quite  so  auda- 
cious exists,  even  in  America,  where  all  sorts  of  journal- 
istic audacities  are  permitted. 

The  tone  affected  by  this  paper  is  national,  that  is, 
anti-English.  Its  motto  is,  "  Australia  for  the  Austra- 
lians." All  the  political,  social,  and  religious  marion- 
ettes are  treated  with  a  cool  impudence  that  is  unmatch- 
able. 

The  Bulletin  is  devoured  by  the  masses,  who  delight 
in  its  democratic  tone,  and  by  Society,  with  a  capital  .S", 
which  finds  in  it  the  minutest  details  of  the  toilettes 
worn  at  a  Government  House  ball,  or  at  Mrs.  So-and- 
So's  garden  party,  as  well  as  the  most  appetizing  bits  of 
gossip  of  the  week  served  up  with  sauce  piquant e. 

The  circulation  of  this  paper  is  enormous.  You  meet 
with  it  everywhere :  it  is  on  the  tables  of  all  the  clubs 
and  hotels,  not  of  New  South  Wales  alone,  but  of  all 
the  Colonies,  including  New  Zealand  and  Tasmania ; 
and  if  you  go  into  the  Bushman's  hut,  there  are  a  hun- 
dred chances  to  one  that  you  will  find  the  latest  number 
there. 

This  paper  exposes  many  follies,  many  impostures ; 
and  the  scourging  it  administers,  without  respect  of  per- 
sons, to  snobs,  humbugs,  hypocrites,  renders  a  service 
to  Austialian  society.  But  that  which  counter-balances 
the  good  it  does,  and  tends  to  make  the  publication  a 
harmful  one,  is  its  alimentation  of  that  very  characteris- 
tic Australian  trait — want  of  respect  for  what  is  respect- 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  iSy 

able,  and  its  encouragement  of  affectation  in  a  certain 
section  of  Australians,  by  lending  its  columns  to  the 
chronicling  of  all  their  little  sayings  and  doings. 

The  Bulletin  is  constantly  guilty  of  the  very  failings 
that  it  so  cleverly  satirizes  in  the  public  who  read  it. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Amusements  at  the  Antipodes — The  Australian  Gayer  than  the 
EngHshman — Melbourne — Lord  Hopetoun — The  Racing 
Craze — The  Melbourne  Cuj) — Flemington  Compared  with 
Longchamps  and  Epsom. 

The  Australian  is  still  much  too  young  to  have 
strongly  marked  characteristic  traits  ;  but  of  all  the 
members  of  the  great  Anglo-Saxon  family,  I  think  he 
is  destined  to  become  the  most  easy-going,  the  most 
sociable,  and  perhaps  the  most  cheerful. 

He  is  not,  like  the  eastern  American,  the  descendant 
of  a  sad,  austere  race.  His  ancestors  were  adventurers, 
and  not  fanatic  Puritans,  enemies  of  joy  and  happiness, 
seeking  a  corner  of  the  world  where  they  might  freely 
give  themselves  up  to  their  gloomy  religion. 

You  will  not  find  in  the  Australian  that  dogged,  ob- 
stinate perseverance,  that  bull-dog  tenacity  which  has 
helped  the  English  to  do  so  many  great  things,  and 
which  still  puts  the  Scotchman  beyond  competition  in 
every  enterprise  which  calls  for  privations,  hard  work, 
and  indomitable  tenacity. 

For  the  Australian,  life  has  ilways  been  relatively 
easy.  He  had  no  formidable  savage  race  to  combat  nor 
wild  beasts  to  exterminate.  Rigorous  winters  he  knows 
nothing  of.  A  sun,  that  lights  and  warms  him.  shines 
all  the  year  round  from  an  almost  cloudless  sky. 

Even  the  vagrant,  who  lives  on  the  generosity  of  the 
squatter  at  whose  door  he  knocks  at  sunset,  needs  no 

i88 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  1 89 

other  roof  than  a  blanket,  which,  with  his  "  billy,"  forms 
all  his  equipment.  He  lives  in  the  open  air.  Even  if 
brighter  days  should  never  dawn  for  him,  he  has  enough 
to  eat,  pure  air  to  breathe,  he  suffers  neither  from 
hunger  nor  cold,  he  is  free,  he  has  the  sun  to  cheer  him 
by  day,  and  myriads  of  stars  make  his  night  beautiful. 
He  can  almost  enjoy  his  life,  which  is  incontestably 
pleasanter  than  that  of  the  miner  or  the  worker  in  a 
manufactory.  In  Australia,  there  is  no  real  poverty  ex- 
cept in  Melbourne  and  Sydney.  And  even  there,  I  do 
not  know  of  any  employment  which  would  not  allow  a 
man,  with  a  few  months  of  thrift,  to  save  enough  to  start 
a  little  farm  in  the  Bush,  if  he  were  ready  to  be  his  own 
laborer. 

The  Australian  has  quite  a  passion  for  amusement. 
There  is  no  country  in  the  world  whose  people  flock  in 
such  numbers  to  theatres,  concerts,  exhibitions,  all 
places  of  recreation  ;  there  are  no  people  who  take  so 
many  holidays  or  enter  with  such  keenness  into  all 
national  sports ;  there  is  no  society  that  dines  and 
dances  quite  so  much  as  Australasian  society. 

The  pleasures  of  the  lower  classes  are  loud,  and  often 
vulgar  ;  but  the  Australian  gives  himself  up  to  them  with 
more  gaiety  than  the  Englishman.  Look  at  John  Bull 
when  he  plays  a  game  of  foot-ball,  or  stands  up  in  a 
sparring-match.  He  puts  on  a  frowning,  almost  fero- 
cious, face,  that  would  make  you  believe  that  it  is  the 
honor  of  his  country  he  is  defending  against  some  enemy 
who  has  sworn  its  destruction. 

An  English  ballroom  of  the  present  day  is  not  always 
a  scene  of  great  gaiety  ;  there  is  a  half-bored  look  on 
too  many  of  the  faces,  and  a  lack  of  spontaneity  about 


190  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

the  enjoyment  of  the  dancing.  At  the  Government 
House  balls  in  Sydney  and  Melbourne,  I  was  struck 
with  the  look  of  pleasure  on  all  the  faces  ;  it  was  not  a 
duty — a  function,  as  the  English  call  it — that  people 
were  going  through  with.  The  dancing  was  full  of 
spirit,  and  the  dancers  were  really  enjoying  themselves  ; 
the  whole  scene  was  exhilarating. 

And  how  could  one  help  being  gay  at  the  Melbourne 
Government  House,  when  the  host  was  the  young  Earl 
of  Hopetoun  ?  This  young  diplomatist  is  about  thirty 
years  old,  has  a  face  that  is  bright  and  smiling,  an  in- 
telligent forehead,  and  a  delicate  nose  and  mouth.  He 
is  witty  and  amiable,  full  of  life,  Grand  Seigneur  to  the 
tips  of  his  fingers,  immensely  rich,  and  generous  in  pro- 
portion. Not  only  all  his  salary  goes  in  hospitality  and 
acts  of  generosity,  but  he  spends  his  large  income  be- 
sides. When  he  has  been  Governor  five  years,  and  quits 
Melbourne  for  Europe,  the  Victorians  had  better  put  on 
mourning;  they  will  never  again  have  Lord  Hopetoun's 
equal. 

But  of  all  the  amusements  to  which  the  Australians 
give  themselves  up,  there  is  nothing  that  touches  horse- 
racing  for  popularity.  It  is  a  dominant  passion — a 
craze. 

The  combative  instinct  of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  the  love 
of  competition,  of  struggle,  of  chance,  of  adventures,  of 
facile  gains,  the  passion  for  the  horse,  which  in  Aus- 
tralia is  man's  companion  from  his  tenderest  childhood, 
— all  these  things  explain  the  fever  that  seizes  on  the 
Australian,  when  a  few  horses,  mounted  by  jockeys  in 
multi-colored  attire,  are  on  the  course  quivering  with 
impatience  for  the  signal  to  start. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  I9I 

I  think  nothing  must  astonish  the  visitor  to  Austrah'a 
more  than  to  see  the  tremendous  hold  horse-racing  has 
taken  upon  the  whole  population.  During  Cup  Week 
in  Melbourne,  scarcely  anything  but  racing  is  thought 
of  or  talked  of.  Every  train  that  comes  into  the  city 
for  a  week  beforehand  brings  crowds  of  people  from  all 
parts  of  Australasia.  In  Europe,  certain  sets  of  people 
go  to  races;  in  Australia,  the  w^hole  population.  Men, 
women,  and  children,  of  the  best  colonial  society,  have 
made  bets  on  the  horses  ;  business  men,  clerks,  servants, 
the  very  vagrants,  all  are  interested  in  the  result. 
There  is  not  a  little  corner  in  any  part  of  the  Australian 
Bush  where  the  conversation  does  not  turn  on  the  result 
of  the  race. 

The  greatest  event  of  the  year,  in  colonial  life,  is  the 
Melbourne  Cup  Race.  The  prize  is  worth  ten  thousand 
pounds  sterling;  and  such  is  the  betting  done  upon  this 
race,  that  when  the  winning  horse  is  announced,  more 
than  five  hundred  thousand  pounds  change  hands. 

The  banks  are  closed,  trade  is  suspended,  and  the 
whole  colony  is  breathless  with  feverish  impatience,  until 
the  name  of  the  winner  of  the  Cup  is  published  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  It  is  a  national 
event,  only  to  be  compared,  for  widespread  intensity,  to 
the  presidential  election  in  America — with  this  dif- 
ference, that  the  Americans  bet  still  more  heavily  on  the 
event. 

I  went  to  see  the  Cup  Race.  It  was  frightful  weather, 
but  in  spite  of  the  pouring  rain,  there  were  nearly  a 
hundred  thousand  people  on  the  grounds,  that  is  to  say, 
one-tenth  of  the  entire  population  of  the  colony.  Had 
the  weather  been  fine,  the  crowd  would  have  been  much 


192  JOHN    HULL    &    CO. 

larger  still.  In  such  weather,  the  Parisians  would  have 
hesitated  at  the  idea  of  going  to  Auteuil  or  Long- 
champs,  but  here  were  people  who  had  come  a  five  days' 
sea  voyage  from  New  Zealand,  others  who  had  taken 
long  journeys  over  land,  others  who  had  come  from 
Tasmania,  to  see  the  racing ;  and  what  was  the  rain  to 
them  ? 

There  were  the  Governors  of  three  colonies,  accom- 
panied by  their  ladies  and  suites ;  there  were  members 
of  the  Legislative  Council,  who,  having  just  passed  a 
severe  Hill  against  betting,  had  adjourned  for  Cup 
Week ;  there  was  the  pick  of  Australian  society,  with 
its  brave  array  of  lovely  women  in  elegant  attire. 

"  Some  important  affair  of  State,"  said  I  to  a  friend, 
'Ms,  I  suppose,  the  cause  of  this  rendez-vous  between 
the  Governors?" 

"Certainly,"  he  replied;  "the  Cup  Race  is  the  most 
important  event  of  the  year." 

The  racing  takes  place  at  Flemington,  a  village  a 
few  miles  out  of  Melbourne.  The  race-course  is  vast, 
and  all  the  arrangements  perfect.  Spacious  stands, 
luxurious  rooms  of  all  sorts,  lunch-rooms,  tea-rooms,  to 
suit  all  tastes  and  all  purses,  retiring  rooms,  toilet- 
rooms,  refreshment  bars,  cigar  divans,  etc.,  where  all 
articles  offered  for  sale  have  been  duly  examined  by 
the  committee.  Well  might  Lord  Rosebery  exclaim, 
when  we  went  to  see  a  race  at  Flemington,  "  This  is 
not  a  race-meeting,  it  is  more  like  a  drawing-room 
entertainment."  I  should  rather  call  it  a  garden 
party,  with  some  first-class  racing  thrown  in ;  a 
gigantic  national  picnic,  at  which  the  organizers  have 
forgotten  nothing  that  can  conduce  to  the  enjoyment 


JOHN     Rn.I,    &    CO.  193 

of  the  party.  No  riotous  behavior  mars  the  scene, 
which,  even  on  the  flat  where  the  masses  congregate, 
is  singularly  free  from  coarseness  and  drunkenness. 

I  could  not  help  comparing  Hemington  with  the 
two  great  national  race-courses  of  Europe,  Epsom  and 
Longchamps ;  and,  as  far  as  the  arrangements  for  the 
comfort  and  enjoyment  of  the  people  are  concerned, 
Flemington  certainly  stands  first. 

As  a  spectacle  and  as  a  holiday,  the  Grand  Prix  at 
Longchamps  carries  off  the  palm.  It  is  an  unique 
sight.  The  crowd  of  elegantly  dressed  people  in  the 
endless  stream  of  carriages,  unmarred  by  a  shabby 
turn-out,  much  less  a  costermonger's  cart,  the  thousands 
of  the  w^orking  classes  massed  on  the  green  slopes 
overlooking  the  course,  the  merry  picnickings  in  the 
woods  around,  make  up  a  scene  that  pleases  the  eye 
and  gladdens  the  heart.  A  week's  work  has  not  been 
sacrificed  over  the  merrymaking,  nor  a  week's  earnings 
gone  in  bets  and  carousings ;  the  outing  does  not 
result  in  a  crop  of  police  court  cases,  but  a  day's 
rational  pleasure  is  taken,  and  refreshes  for  to- 
morrow's work. 

But  if  Flemington  cannot  show  such  a  refined  crowd 
as  Longchamps,  it  exhibits  none  of  the  revolting 
rowdyism  of  Epsom. 

It  is  strange  that  in  England,  the  very  nursery  of 
racing  and  of  its  raison  d etrt\,  the  blood  horse,  the 
sight  of  that  great  English  race,  the  Derby,  should  be 
spoilt  by  the  disorderliness  of  the  crowd.  It  is 
stranger  still  that,  in  England,  the  home  of  propriety, 
you  should  have  to  confront  repulsive  sights,  which 
might    easily    be    suppressed,  if    only    a    little    decent 


194  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

thoughtfulness  were  exercised  in  providing  for  the 
needs  of  such  a  mass  of  people  out  for  the  day  so  far 
from  town ;  not  that  even  an  angel  from  heaven  could 
make  an  orderly  crowd  out  of  the  terribly  mixed 
material  that  flows  into  Epsom  on  Derby  Day. 

At  Flemington,  you  have  a  respectable  crowd,  com- 
posed for  the  most  part  of  people  who  have  come 
there  in  the  hope  of  winning  a  little  money.  At 
Epsom,  you  have  the  British  contrast  of  the  unbridled 
luxury  of  the  rich,  and  the  vulgar  revelry  of  the  lower 
classes.  At  Longchamps,  you  have  a  rendezvous  for 
high  society,  a  i'a.m\\y  fete  for  the  middle  classes,  and  a 
day  of  healthy  recreation  for  the  people. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

The  Drama  in  the  Colonies — Madame  Sarah  Bernhardt  in  Aus- 
tralia— Anglo-Saxon  Theatres  Compared  with  Theatres  in 
Paris — Variety  Shows — The  Purveyor  of  Intellectual  Pleas- 
ures— An  Important  Actor — The  Theatre  in  Small  Towns. 

The  Australians  are  great  level's  of  the  theatre. 
English  companies,  composed  of  from  sixty  to  eighty- 
performers,  do  not  fear  to  go  to  the  enormous  expense 
of  the  voyage.  They  carry  their  costumes  and  scenery, 
and,  after  a  six  months'  Australasian  tour,  generally 
return  much  enriched. 

Madame  Bernhardt  herself  had  no  cause  to  regret 
her  visit  to  the  Colonies.  In  Sydney,  Melbourne,  and 
Adelaide,  three  years  since,  she  reaped  an  ample 
harvest  of  guineas  and  applause.  I  should  not  like  to 
affirm  that  all  the  spectators  knew  enoygh  of  French 
to  appreciate  the  delicacy,  finish  and  power  of  the 
great  tragedienne ;  but  they  went  in  crowds  to  see  her, 
and  thus  thank  her  in  person  for  having  been  good 
enough  to  consider  the  Colonies  as  a  field  of  operation 
worth  exploiting  by  the  greatest  actress  of  modern 
times. 

Melbourne  and  Sydney  possess  handsome  theatres, 
quite  as  well  appointed  as  those  of  England  and 
America,  and  the  comfort  of  the  audience  is  much 
more  studied  in  them  than  it  is  in  the  Parisian 
theatres.  When  you  have  paid  for  your  ticket,  you 
are  at  the  end  of  your  trouble,  and  you  have  nothing 
to   do    but    take   your   pleasure.     In   Paris,  when  you 

195 


196  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

have  taken  your  ticket,  which  is  not  numbered,  your 
troubles  begin,  and  this  ticket  only  serves  to  bandy 
you  from  one  tyrant  to  another :  from  the  gentleman 
in  swallow-tail  and  white  cravat,  with  a  salary  of 
four  francs  fifty,  who  treats  you  with  high  and  mighty 
indifference,  to  the  bearded  harpy  who  packs  you 
away  just  where  she  likes  unless  you  grease  her  paw 
with  silver,  and  who  worries  you  with  a  little  foot- 
stool which  you  have  no  earthly  need  of.  until  you 
long  to  tell  her  to  go,  she  and  her  wooden  stool,  to 
swell  Satan's  bonfire,  and  rid  you  of  her  purrings  and 
whinings.  Is  there  in  this  world  a  public  more 
easily  tyrannized  over  than  that  good,  easy-going 
Parisian  one  ?  Is  there  a  city  more  bound  down  by 
routine  ?  Is  it,  after  all,  so  impossible  to  have,  in 
Parisian  theatres,  as  in  English  and  American  ones, 
numbered  tickets,  that  allow  the  theatre-goer  to 
proceed  in  peace  to  the  stall  bearing  the  number  of 
the  ticket  he  has  purchased,  without  being  obliged 
to  plead  and  tip  attendants  to  obtain  the  seat  that 
belongs  to  him  ? 

In  the  theatres  of  all  Anglo-Saxon  countries — that  is 
to  say,  free  countries,  where  common  sense  reigns  and 
the  public  is  master — when  you  have  bought  your 
theatre  ticket,  it  gives  you  the  right  to  a  numbered 
seat,  to  a  programme,  which  is  as  indispensable  at  the 
play  as  is  the  bill  of  fare  at  a  restaurant,  and  to  a  peg 
in  the  cloakroom  upon  which  to  hang  an  overcoat, 
without  having  to  submit  to  the  annoyance  of  a 
crowd  of  abject  mendicants,  who  have  no  reason  to 
be  in  the  theatre  except  as  obliging  servants  of  the 
public. 


JOHN   muA.  &  c(\  197 

The  theatres  I  was  speaking  of  do  still  better  than 
this.  They  are  all  provided  with  bars,  smoke-rooms, 
lavatories,  ladies'  cloakrooms — in  a  word,  every  con- 
venience which  the  managers  think  it  their  duty  to 
place  at  the  disposal  of  the  public  which  brings  them 
its  money. 

If  the  Australian  theatres  are  comfortable,  the 
intellectual  entertainments  served  up  are  mostly 
wretched  productions. 

I  saw  a  few^  excellent  actors  who  have  become,  so 
to  speak,  Australian  :  Messrs.  Brough  and  Boucicault 
(the  latter  is  a  son  of  the  celebrated  actor),  Mr. 
Tetharidge  in  comedy,  and  Mr.  Walter  Bentley  in 
drama  and  tragedy ;  but  the  pieces  that  have  the 
greatest  success  with  the  mass  of  the  public  are  cock- 
and-bull  affairs  which  the  Montmartre  Theatre  would 
reject  with  disdain,  a  succession  of  songs  and  dances 
in  costume,  commonly  called  Variety  Shows — a  Folies- 
Bergere  programme  of  the  most  vulgar  and  stupid 
description.  There  comes  on  the  stage  a  man  with  a 
red  nose,  a  bald  cranium  six  inches  high,  surmounted 
by  a  hat  too  ridiculously  small  to  stay  on  his  head. 
He  pretends  to  be  helplessly  drunk.  He  sings,  dances, 
and  falls  on  the  stage ;  gets  up,  sings  and  dances  again, 
and  again  falls  down.  And  this  amuses  the  people 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  Then  there  will  appear  a 
dozen  girls,  generally  pretty  and  always  lightly  dressed. 
They  dance,  singing  the  while ;  and  they  in  their  turn 
give  place  to  some  other  mountebank,  who  will  also 
dance.  An  Australian  v/ho  cannot  dance  a  jig  would 
be  a  useless  piece  of  furniture  in  the  theatre. 

For  her  intellectual  entertainments,  Australia  depends 


IQS  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

upon  Messrs.  R.  S.  Smythe  &  Son,  who  have  never  dis- 
appointed her.  These  celebrated  impresarios  give  the 
Australians  an  opportunity  of  hearing  the  greatest  art- 
istes and  the  best-known  European  lecturers.  Under 
their  direction  have  appeared  Madame  Arabella  God- 
dard,  Mr.  Charles  Santley,  Sir  Charles  and  Lady  Halle, 
Mr.  Archibald  Forbes,  whose  lectures  on  his  experi- 
ences as  a  war  correspondent  had  attracted  all  Eng- 
land, Mr.  G.  A.  Sala,  Mr.  H.  M.  Stanley,  and  numerous 
others. 

Nothing  is  more  amusing  in  the  Colonies  than  to  lis- 
ten to  the  speeches  that  the  public  force  the  principal 
actor  to  make  when  the  play  is  over.  (In  America  I 
have  even  seen  an  audience  insist  on  a  speech  between 
each  act.  When  the  last  act  but  one  was  finished,  the 
actor  excused  himself  on  the  ground  of  having  to  don 
for  the  last  act  a  costume  which  it  took  him  ten  min- 
utes to  put  on.) 

Those  speeches  are  generally  composed  of  flattery 
addressed  to  the  spectators.  The  actor  comes  forward, 
thanks  the  public  for  having  honored  him  with  its  con- 
fidence, and  promises  in  the  future  to  continue  to  use 
all  his  efforts  to  merit  the  appreciation  that  it  has  ac- 
corded to  him  in  the  past.  Then  he  speaks  of  his  art, 
his  receipts,  and  his  private  affairs. 

I  one  day  heard,  in  Melbourne,  an  actor,  who  has 
made  himself  a  reputation  by  his  singing  of  comic  songs 
and  his  dancing  of  jigs,  make  the  following  remarks  in 
public :  "  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  have  read  in  the 
papers  of  this  city  that  Dan  G.  (the  name  of  a  confrere) 
and  I  had  fallen  out.  I  wish  to  give  a  formal  denial  to 
this  statement.     Dan  and  I  have  always  been  the  best 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  I99 

of  friends.  We  are  both  successful  enough  not  to  be 
jealous  of  each  other,  ana  I  beg  you  to  believe  that  our 
relations  are  of  the  most  cordial  kind." 

And  the  public  applauded. 

Bismarck  in  Parliament,  refuting  the  statement  that 
he  and  the  Emperor  of  Germany  had  quarreled,  could 
not  have  made  his  statement  with  more  seriousness.  It 
was  highly  comical. 

But  you  should  see  the  melodramas  that  are  played 
in  the  smaller  towns ;  you  could  but  admire  the  endur- 
ance of  the  public  which  swallows  such  stuff,  and  you 
could  but  pity  the  fate  of  those  poor  strolling  players, 
knocking  about  from  town  to  town,  thankful  when  the 
receipts  will  allow  them  to  pay  their  hotel  bill  and  buy 
their  railway  tickets  to  their  next  destination. 

These  plays  are  a  succession  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
scenes,  in  each  of  which  the  heroine  is  on  the  point  of 
succumbing  to  the  infernal  machinations  of  the  tradi- 
tional stage  villain,  when  the  hero,  who  happens  to  be 
at  hand,  rushes  to  her  rescue.  The  curtain  falls,  and 
the  worthy  folk  in  the  auditorium  breathe  freely  again. 
The  curtain  rises  once  more.  The  villain  has  succeeded 
in  seducing  the  young  girl.  He  announces  to  her  his 
intention  of  abandoning  her. 

"  But  I  love  you,"  cries  the  unhappy  one. 

"  What  is  that  to  me  ?  "  replies  the  villain;  "  do  you 
think  I  will  have  anything  more  to  do  with  such  a 
degraded  creature  as  you  ?     Begone,  or  I  shall  kill  you." 

But  it  happens  that  the  hero  is  not  far  off.  He 
seizes  the  villain,  who,  to  keep  his  hand  in,  has  killed 
the  girl's  father.  The  poor  father  had  done  him  no 
harm,  but  when  one  is  a  villain  in  melodrama  one  has 


200  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

a  reputation  to  keep  up.  The  hero  then  seizes  the 
wretch,  passes  a  rope  around  his  arms,  and  ties  him  to 
a  chair.  The  villain  might  go  off,  taking  the  chair 
with  him,  but  he  accepts  his  position  as  inevitable. 
He  does  not  stir,  but  awaits  his  fate.  He  does  not 
wait  in  vain.  Scarcely  has  the  hero  gone  for  the  police, 
when  a  friend  of  the  villain,  who  happens  to  be  there, 
cuts  his  cords  and  sets  him  at  liberty ;  but  just  as  he 
is  escaping,  a  friend  of  the  young  girl,  who  happens 
to  be  near,  seizes  the  wTetch,  casts  the  cords  around 
his  arms,  and  binds  him  to  the  chair  once  more.  He 
is  very  strong,  this  friend  of  the  girl,  so  the  villain  and 
his  accomplice  content  themselves  with  looking  at  him, 
without  stirring  a  muscle,  while  he  goes  through  the 
business. 

In  the  next  act,  the  unhappy  girl  is  wandering  the 
country  in  search  of  a  refuge.  She  fails  fainting  by  the 
wayside.  The  villain  appears  on  the  scene,  and  roughly 
rouses  her. 

"  For  ever  in  my  path,"  says  he ;  "  better  make  an 
end  of  this." 

*'  Do  not  kill  me,"  she  cries. 

Happily,  a  friend  who  happens  to  be  passing  that 
way — - 

At  the  end  of  the  twentieth  scene  the  villain  is  caught. 
No  one  happens  to  be  there  to  deliver  him,  and  the 
play  is  ended. 

This  tricky  trash  is  made  up  by  the  actor-manager 
of  the  company,  is  advertised  as  "  immensely  success- 
ful in  the  Colonies,"  and  is  often  signed  with  the  most 
celebrated  names  of  the  day,  especially  those  which 
happen  to  be  on  the  public  tongue  at  the  moment. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  20I 

Thus  the  i)roduction  that  I  have  just  described  was 
signed  '' C  H.  Spurgeon."  It  was  just  at  the  time 
when  the  great  preacher  and  philanthropist  had  died, 
and  his  name  was  on  every  one's  hps. 

When  Mr.  H.  M.  Stanley  had  returned  to  Europe 
after  having  finished  a  brilliant  lecturing  tour  in  Aus- 
tralia,  the  plays  of  this  kind  were  signed  "  Stanley  "  for 
several  months. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Railroads  in  the  Colonies — You  Set  Out  but  You  Do  Not  Arrive 
— A  Woman  in  a  Hurry — Mixed  Trains — First-Class  Travel- 
elers — Curious  Traveling  Companions. 

"  In  these  days,"  has  remarked  a  French  writer,  whose 
name  I  cannot  remember,  *'  people  no  longer  travel — 
they  set  out  and  they  arrive.  ' 

In  the  Colonies,  you  set  out,  but  you  do  not  arrive. 

With  the  exception  of  the  express  trains  between 
Sydney.  Melbourne,  and  Adelaide,  the  speed  is  seldom 
more  than  ten  miles  an  hour.  They  are  indeed  ordi- 
nary trains,  and  every  time  I  traveled  in  one  I  thought 
that  there  was  no  safer  place  in  this  world  than  one  of 
these  colonial  trains.  You  are  sure  to  arrive  safe  and 
sound,  but  if  you  are  in  a  hurry,  a  buggy  is  better.  In 
France,  we  have  the  same  word  for  funeral  procession 
and  ordinary  trains,  convoi.  It  is  not  so  in  Australia, 
but  there  is  so  much  resemblance  in  the  things,  if  not 
the  names,  that  when  we  passed  one  of  those  trains  I 
instinctively  lifted  my  hat. 

It  is  with  the  greatest  difficulty  in  the  world  that  the 
engine-driver  succeeds  in  not  arriving  before  the  time 
stated  on  the  railway  time-tables.  He  does  his  best : 
stops  at  stations  where  no  one  wants  to  get  in  or  out ; 
draws  up  at  every  shed  on  the  line,  in  the  hope  of  some 
one  wanting  to  entrust  him  with  a  letter  or  a  parcel ;  if 
he  sees  a  few  boys  playing  foot-ball  or  cricket  in  a  field, 
I  verily  believe  he  stops  his  train  to  look  at  them.     In 

202 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  203 

spite  of  all  this,  it  is  as  much  as  he  can  do  not  to  arrive 
before  his  time.  I  have  seen  people  stop  the  train  as 
you  stop  an  omnibus  in  the  street. 

The  colonials  themselves  take  the  thing  in  good  part, 
and  are  full  of  amusing  stories  on  the  subject. 

Here  is  one  among  a  hundred  : 

The  engine-driver  of  a  train  sees  a  poor  old  woman 
tramping  along  the  road  with  a  wearied  step.  Struck 
with  compassion  for  her,  he  stops  his  train,  invites  her 
to  get  in,  and  says  he  will  take  her  as  far  as  the  next 
station. 

*'  Many  thanks ;  I  should  be  very  glad  to  accept,  but 
I  am  in  a  hurry,"  she  replies. 

The  state  of  things  is  easily  explained,  however. 

In  the  Colonies,  the  railways  are  made  by  the  Gov- 
ernment and  belong  to  the  State.  For  reasons  of 
economy,  a  narrow  gauge  was  adopted,  and  it  would 
be  dangerous  for  running  rapid  trains  upon.  By  going 
at  slow  speed,  coal  is  economized,  and  as,  outside  the 
great  towns,  the  population  is  not  important  enough  to 
pay  for  the  luxury  of  express  trains,  the  Government 
is  obliged  to  have  omnibus  trains,  which,  once  a  day 
only,  stop  at  all  stations,  and,  if  necessary,  in  certain 
unpeopled  localities,  where  sheds  have  been  put  up  so 
as  to  allow  some  squatter  of  the  neighborhood  to  join 
or  leave  the  train,  by  making  a  sign  to  the  driver  to 
stop  the  train  there. 

Besides  this  slow  train  there  is  a  goods  train,  to 
which  there  is  a  carriage  attached  for  the  convenience 
of  such  persons  as  may  not  have  a  horse  available  and 
are  too  lazy  to  walk.  This  kind  is  called  a  mixed  train 
in  the  Colonies.     You  find  it  also  in  the  United  States. 


204  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

The  Americans,  who  are  notliin^^  if  not  humorous,  have 
given  it  the  name  of  accommodation  train. 

Give  the  Colonies  time  to  develop  themselves,  and  I 
guarantee  that  one  of  these  days  their  trains  will  put 
those  of  the  English  South- Eastern  line  to  shame.  The 
express  trains  that  form  the  communication  between 
the  capitals  are  already  as  rapid  as  the  best  European 
ones,  and  quite  as  comfortable. 

In  New  Zealand  and  South  Africa,  the  trains  have 
third-class  compartments  for  the  use  of  the  colored 
population.  In  Australia,  the  blacks  do  not  count  for 
anything,  and  society  is  divided  into  two  classes,  first 
and  second.  However,  in  a  country  where  everyone  is 
afraid  of  not  impressing  upon  every  one  else  the  fact 
that  he  is  as  good  as  his  neighbor,  or  better,  I  was  not 
surprised  to  see  the  second-class  carriages  empty  and 
the  first-class  all  full,  in  spite  of  the  stagnation  of  busi- 
ness and  the  fear  of  bankruptcy  before  the  eyes  of  half 
the  population. 

In  England,  when  you  ask  for  a  ticket  for  any  station, 
you  are  handed  a  third-class  one.  In  Australia,  unless 
you  mention  second,  you  are  handed  a  ticket  for  first  class. 

Many  a  time  did  I  long  to  slip  into  a  second-class  car- 
riage to  avoid  the  crowd  and  stretch  out  at  ease  among 
the  cushions.  It  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  If  ever  I 
had  allowed  myself  such  a  luxury,  and  had  been  discov- 
ered in  a  second-class  carriage,  the  thing  would  have 
been  bruited  about,  and  all  my  chances  of  success  shat- 
tered. The  Australians  are  not  a  careful  people  exactly, 
but  they  are  very  careful  of  appearances. 

What  queer  traveling  companions  you  may  have  to 
put  up  with ! 


JOHN    BULL    iV    CO.  205 

F'irst,  there  is  the  bore,  who  arouses  you  from  a 
sweet,  refreshing  sleep  to  give  you  the  name  of  the 
squatter  who  owns  the  lands  you  are  passing  through, 
explains  how  the  father  came  to  settle  there,  tells  you 
the  fortune  he  made  there,  and  relates  in  detail  the  his- 
tory of  the  family. 

The  one  I  most  dreaded  was  the  man  who  recogni/et! 
me,  and,  having  heard  one  or  several  of  my  lectures, 
went  through  them  again,  interlarding  them  with  com- 
mentaries, and  explaining  to  me  the  points. 

One,  a  little  bolder  than  the  rest,  but  whose  frank- 
ness I  could  but  admire,  picked  them  to  pieces. 

Several  times  did  obliging  stationmasters  reserve  a 
compartment  for  our  party.  To  such  I  owe  an  eternal 
debt  of  gratitude. 

Very  often  those  people  had  the  very  best  intentions 
in  the  world,  I  am  sure;  but  alas  I  hell  is  pavetl  with 
them,  and  is  probably  none  the  more  agreeable  for  that. 
I  was  once  tapped  on  the  shoulder.  "  Hallo,  Max,  where 
is  your  compartment?"  said  a  worthy  fellow,  with  a 
frank  and  honest  face.  "  I  am  going  to  travel  with 
you.     Come  and  have  a  drink  before  starting! " 

The  good  fellows  offered  me  cigars,  and  did  their 
best  to  make  me  understand  that  they  were  happy  to 
be  in  my  company.  It  would  have  been  bad  taste  to 
be  frigid  with  them.  But  I  would  fain  have  said  to 
them,  "A  man  w^ho  has  been  traveling  incessantly  dur- 
ing two  years,  who  has  to  spend  six,  seven  or  eight 
hours  a  day  in  a  train,  and  has  to  speak  for  two  hours 
every  night,  appreciates  as  much  quiet  as  he  can  get." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Spirit  of  Nationality  and   Independence — Local    Patriotism — 
Every  Man  for  Himself  and  the  Colonies  for  the  Colonials. 

Of  all  the  English  Colonies,  I  think  that  Canada  is 
the  most  faithful  to  England.  The  proximity  of  the 
United  States  is  the  cause  of  this.  If  Canada  were 
isolated,  or  situated  at  the  antipodes,  its  spirit  of 
national  independence  would  be  as  strong  as  that  of 
the  young  generation  of  Australia  or  South  Africa. 
The  fear  of  being  swallowed  up  in  the  United  States 
keeps  the  Canadians  loyal  to  England.  If  they  must 
belong  to  some  one,  they  think  that  there  is  more 
prestige  in  belonging  to  England  than  to  America. 
This,  at  any  rate,  is  the  feeling  of  the  Canadian  upper 
classes.  Those  who  only  think  of  the  Treaty  of  Com- 
merce with  the  United  States,  which  imposes  a  duty  of 
thirty  per  cent,  upon  all  merchandise  crossing  the 
frontier  on  either  side,  those  people  would  be  in  favor 
of  annexation  to-morrow.  As  to  the  masses,  as  I  have 
said  elsewhere,  they  are  divided  into  four  camps. 

In  Australia,   national    aspirations  are  very  strong, 

especially  among  those  who,  born  in  the  Colonies,  have 

known  no  other  country.     To  be  sure,  the  Australians 

are  as  free  as  the  English ;  they  govern  themselves  as 

they  think  fit,  and  have  no  tribute  to  pay  to  England, 

who,  on  the  contrary,  confides  to  them  much  capital. 

Only   the   presence   of    the   Governor   in   their   midst 

reminds  them  that  they  are  not  a  nation,  but  merely  a 

206 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  207 

dependency,  and  this  irritates  certain  Anglo-Saxons, 
who,  brought  up  in  the  nursery  of  liberty,  do  not  under- 
stand why  it  is  necessary  to  belong  to  anybody.  The 
Governor  governs  much  less  than  King  Log;  but  there 
he  is,  and  in  the  eyes  of  many  Australians  even  this  is 
too  much.  No  one  as  yet  thinks  of  demanding  auton- 
omy for  the  Australasian  Colonies,  but  the  idea  is 
germinating  in  the  brain.  At  present  the  Australians 
beg  the  mother-country  to  be  so  good  as  to  consult 
them  upon  the  choice  of  a  Governor.  Soon  they  will 
exact  it.  Next,  they  will  make  their  own  choice,  and 
eventually  they  may  dispense  with  him  altogether. 

In  the  South  African  Colonies,  where  the  Dutch  ele- 
ment is  more  or  less  hostile  to  England,  this  sentiment 
is  much  stronger  still. 

The  love  of  liberty  and  independence  is  so  deep- 
rooted  in  the  Englishman,  that  when  he  has  established 
himself  in  one  of  the  Colonies,  he  can  scarcely  under- 
stand why  his  new  country  should  not  be  perfectly  free 
and  independent.  His  patriotism  becomes  local,  all  his 
interest  becomes  centered  in  the  new  country,  and, 
curiously  enough,  the  next  generations  born  in  the  Colo- 
nies have  almost  a  feeling  of  dislike  for  England — the 
England  which  has  founded  their  country,  but  which, 
by  sending  it  a  Governor,  reminds  them  that  they  do 
not  belong  to  a  free  nation.  And  the  proof  of  this  is, 
that  the  Australian  or  South  African  politician  has 
not  the  least  chance  of  success  unless  he  poses  before 
the  electors  as  a  patriot  who  will  defend  the  interests 
of  the  Colonies  against  any  encroachments  attempted 
by  the  mother-country. 

If  the  Colonies  should  one  day  decide  to  proclaim 


208  JOHN     r.ULI,    .K:     CO. 

their  independence,  England  will  be  powerless  to  pre- 
vent it. 

It  will  be  her  fault  for  giving  them  an  excuse,  but 
it  will  ever  be  to  her  glory  to  have  given  them  the 
means. 

In  founding  new  worlds  in  distant  oceans,  and  in 
teaching  her  children  to  go  and  build  up  free  nations, 
England  deserves  well  of  humanity.  It  is  far  more- 
glorious  to  have  founded  the  United  States  than  to 
have  conquered  India.  The  United  States  provide  a 
home  for  seventy  million  human  beings.  India  pro- 
vides berths  for  a  few  thousand  Englishmen. 

If  the  Colonies  should  declare  their  independence, 
England's  prestige  would  suffer,  but  the  evil  would  go 
no  further.  John  Bull  is  so  little  master  in  his  Colonies, 
that  his  products  are  taxed  there  as  if  they  were  enter- 
ing a  foreign  country.  The  service  of  the  great  steam- 
ship lines  between  London  and  Sydney,  or  London  and 
the  Cape,  would  not  be  interrupted.  The  only  differ- 
ence would  probably  be  the  increased  number  of  pas- 
sengers on  board. 

John  Bull  is  so  little  master  in  his  own  outhouses, 
that  when  the  Chartered  Company  the  other  day  took 
the  resolution  of  exterminating  the  Matabeles  and 
taking  possession  of  their  country,  a  territory  almost  as 
largj  as  France,  the  English  were  not  even  consulted. 

"Stay  where  you  are,"  said  the  Company  to  John 
Bull;  *'we  are  strong  enough  to  do  the  business." 

A  few  English  protested,  and  the  Government  of 
Her  Ikitannic  Majesty  ordered  the  High  Commissioner 
for  South  Africa  to  demand  explanations.  Mr.  Cecil 
Rhodes,  Premier  of  the  Colony,  replied  in  the  plainest 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  209 

terms,  requesting  that  the  English  would  mind  their 
own  business,  saying  that  he  would  mind  his,  and  that 
he  had  no  account  to  render  to  any  but  the  people  of 
South  Africa.  The  Governor  pocketed  the  reply,  trans- 
mitted it  to  John  Bull,  who,  in  turn,  pocketed  it,  and 
consoled  himself  for  the  snub  by  ordering  his  map- 
makers  to  mark  in  red  Matabeleland.  the  new  possession 
acquired   by  the  firm,  John  Bull  &  Co. 

John  did  still  better. 

The  papers  published  the  number  of  Matabeles  killed, 
and  the  number  of  Anglo-African  volunteers  massacred, 
in  the  various  engagements  that  were  fought  on  Loben- 
gula's  territory.  And  that  which  gives  added  humor 
to  the  terms  chosen  is,  that  the  soldiers  of  the  Company 
killed  the  Matabeles  with  Maxim  guns,  while  the  poor 
savages  had  only  staves  and  assegais  wherewith  to  tnas- 
sacrc  the  invaders  of  their  native  land. 

If  the  poor  Matabeles  had  been  provided  with  Maxim 
guns  and  Martinis,  Mr.  Rhodes  would  have  intimated 
to  John  Bull  the  necessity  of  sending  out  to  Africa  sev- 
eral regiments  of  red-coats ;  but  as  this  was  not  the 
case,  Mr.  Rhodes  and  the  people  whom  he  governs  by 
the  grace  of  God  and  the  good  pleasure  of  Mr.  Hof- 
meyr,  can  boast  that  the  glory  of  having  exterminated 
the  Matabeles  belongs  to  them  entirely. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Tasmania — The  Country — The  Inhabitants  of  Other  Days  and 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  Present  Day — Visit  to  the  Depots — 
Survivors  of  the  "  Ancien  Regime  " — A  Tough  old  Scotch- 
woman— A  Touching  Scene — Launceston  and  Hobart. 

Tasmania  has  quite  a  European  look.  It  is  like  a 
bit  of  Normandy  or  Devonshire,  with  its  woods  and 
hills,  its  flowers,  its  hedges  of  wild  rose  and  hawthorn. 
Nothing  is  grandiose,  but  all  is  pretty  and  picturesque. 
It  is  an  English  landscape  in  the  most  perfect  climate 
imaginable. 

But  how  is  it  possible  that  a  land  so  privileged  by 
nature  comes  to  be  inhabited  by  such  an  uninteresting 
population  ?  I  never  saw  any  people  more  peaceful, 
more  ordinary,  more  bourgeois,  more  provincial,  more 
behind  the  times.  It  is  the  kind  of  people  one  meets 
in  little  country  towns  in  England  on  Sundays  after 
church.  You  may  still  see  commonly  in  Tasmania  the 
old-fashioned  Englishwoman  with  long  curls  and  a 
mushroom  hat,  the  classic  Englishwoman,  such  as  George 
Cruikshank  drew  for  the  pages  of  Charles  Dickens'  nov- 
els. She  is  just  as  narrow  and  thin  as  he  drew  her, 
with  a  lenten  face,  and  looking  as  if  she  lived  on  tea 
and  toast.  Happily,  there  are  also  plenty  of  pretty 
women  to  be  seen,  who  are  remarkable  for  their  fresh- 
ness and  beauty. 

Is  it  possible  that  this  country,  now  so  tranquil  and 
in  the  full   enjoyment  of  peace    and  plenty,  can   once 

2IO 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  211 

have  resounded  to  the  sound  of  clanking  fetters,  impre- 
cations, and  cries  of  suffering  humanity  ?  Can  it  be  here 
that  such  scenes  were  enacted  as  Marcus  Clarke  de- 
scribed in  his  famous  book.  For  the  Term  of  his  Natural 
Life  ! 

Tasmania  was  once  a  penal  settlem.ent,  beside  which 
our  New  Caledonia  of  to-day  is  a  very  Garden  of  Eden. 
There,  English  convicts  were  chastised  with  chastise- 
ments worthy  of  the  Middle  Ages  or  of  the  Inquisition. 
The  slightest  infraction  of  discipline  was  punished  with 
the  lash  on  the  naked  back  of  the  unhappy  wretch  who 
had  offended.  The  lash  was  the  cat-o'-nine-tails,  and 
the  punishment  often  went  so  far  as  a  hundred  strokes. 
But  all  the  horrors,  are  they  not  written  in  the  book  of 
Marcus  Clarke !  At  Port  Arthur  is  still  to  be  seen  the 
place  where  these  legal  atrocities  took  place,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  clergy,  and  sanctioned  by  a  House  of  Lords 
containing  two  archbishops  and  twenty-four  bishops, 
who  never  lifted  their  voices  against  such  infamy. 

The  first  shipload  of  convicts  reached  Tasmania  from 
England  in  1817,  the  last  in  1853.  In  all,  66,243  con- 
victs were  sent  to  this  penal  station  between  these  two 
dates. 

A  curious  fact.  Of  all  the  countries  of  the  world, 
Tasmania  is  the  one  where,  in  proportion  to  its  popula- 
tion, the  fewest  crimes  are  committed. 

Tasmania  has  some  old  convicts  whom  she  keeps  in 
depots,  where  life  is  made  as  easy  as  may  be  for  them. 
The  director,  who  showed  me  over  one  of  these  build- 
ings, is  full  of  untiring  kindness  to  the  poor  creatures. 
Former  sufferings  have  made  lunatics  of  many,  and 
maimed  many  others.     A  few  of  the  figures  were  bent 


212  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

double.  Not  one  face  that  I  saw  betrayed  a  spirit  of 
vengeance  or  hatred  ;  I  even  failed  to  discover  a  sign 
of  anguish  or  misery.  The  eyes  were  haggard,  and 
their  light  gone  out ;  they  betrayed  no  sentiment  but 
resignation  and  indifference.  The  inmates  have  full 
freedom  in  the  depot,  w^ander  freely  in  their  gardens, 
which  are  public,  and  go  into  the  town  when  they  please. 
They  are  w^ell  fed,  well  clothed,  and  well  cared  for. 
The  townspeople  frequent  their  gardens,  and  the  chil- 
dren play  around  them.  They  even  have  a  theatre, 
where  kind-hearted  folk  give  them  occasional  treats  in 
the  way  of  a  concert  or  a  comedy. 

These  poor  wretches,  whom  I  had  talks  with,  seem  to 
have  forgotten  for  the  most  part  where  they  came  from, 
or  to  whom  they  belonged.  They  are  no  longer  of  this 
world.  There  are  many  of  them  who  do  not  even  re- 
member what  they  did  to  merit  transportation.  It  is 
complete  oblivion  of  life,  a  dazed  numbness  created  by 
great  sufferings.  There  was  one  among  others,  known 
by  the  name  of  Bill,  who  had  been  at  Launceston  forty- 
seven  years.  He  is  an  idiot,  and  passes  the  days  in 
laughter.  Ask  him  what  brought  him  to  Tasmania, 
and  he  will  reply,  still  laughing,  '*  Handkerchief,  sir." 
"  Stolen  ?  "  ''  Yes,  sir."  **  Where  ?  "  "  Bethnal  Green  " 
Do  not  ask  him  anything  else.  Handkerchief — stolen 
— Bethnal  Green,  such  is  the  sum  of  his  vocabulary. 
The  voyage  out,  the  arrival  in  Tasmania,  the  labor,  the 
punishments,  the  fifty-six  pound  fetters  that  were  fast- 
ened to  his  ankles,  the  lash — he  remembers  nothing, 
not  even  his  parents.  Handkerchief — stolen — Bethnal 
Green ;  when  he  is  not  saying  these  three  words,  he  is 
laughing. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  21 3 

I  went  to  the  depot  provided  with  some  tobacco  for 
the  men  and  bon-bons  for  the  women. 

I  had  divided  the  tobacco  into  eighty  packets  of  an 
ounce  each.  I  distributed  these  httle  gifts  with  some 
small  money  to  these  poor  wretches  as  I  met  with  them 
in  the  buildings  and  the  gardens.  On  a  bench  two  men 
were  seated.  I  sat  down  beside  them,  and  offered  to 
the  one  nearest  me  his  share.  "  Thank  you,  sir,"  he 
said  to  me  ;  *'  but  you  do  not  recognize  me.  You  have 
already  given  me  some,  tobacco  and  money ;  will  you 
give  it  to  Jack,  here  ?  he  has  not  had  any." 

In  what  strange  places  honesty  will  hide !  thought  I. 
This  poor  fellow  had  not  at  all  a  bad  face,  but  just 
looked  stupid  and  resigned.  I  asked  him  what  crime 
he  had  committed  to  be  where  he  was.  He  did  not 
know  in  the  least.  The  director  himself  could  not  en- 
lighten me  on  the  point. 

The  thing  that  struck  me  most  on  observing  the  faces 
around  was  the  absence  of  intelligence.  Few  of  the 
countenances  were  evil-looking,  but  all  were  stamped 
with  stupidity.  And  I  thought  of  the  saying  of  our 
great  jurisconsult,  '*  It  is  only  the  fools  who  are  in  the 
prisons ;  the  cleverest  malefactors  are  at  large." 

I  left  the  men's  quarters  to  go  and  visit  the  women. 
What  a  hideous  sight !  Veritable  old  hags,  worthy  to 
figure  in  Macbeth^  with  toothless  mouths,  puffy,  color- 
less faces,  and  tufted  chins.  A  perfect  nightmare.  I 
gave  them  their  sweets ;  most  of  them  asked  me  for  to- 
bacco. They  accepted  the  sugar  stuff,  but  with  scanty 
thanks. 

"  The  women  give  me  far  more  trouble  than  the  men," 
said  the  director.     *'  They  are  less  resigned,  they  are  al- 


214  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

ways  grumbling,  and  when  they  go  into  the  town  they 
get  drunk  with  the  money  that  is  given  to  them  by  the 
townspeople." 

There  was  one  old  soul  who  struck  the  comic  note 
amid  this  chorus  of  grumblings  and  discontent.  She 
was  a  Scotchwoman,  to  whom  the  magistrate  had  just 
given  six  months'  imprisonment,  which  meant  that  for 
six  months  to  come  she  would  not  be  able  to  go  in  the 
town  and  get  drunk.  "  Yes,  sir,  sax  months  for  a  wee 
drap  o'  drrrink,  the  blackguard  !  "  This,  it  seems,  was 
one  whom  nothing  can  subjugate.  When  the  six  months 
are  over,  she  is  sure  to  roll  into  the  gutter  again.  Mean- 
while she  utters  harangues  full  of  threats. 

A  touching  scene.  In  the  yard  was  a  young  mother 
undergoing  a  month's  imprisonment.  Her  children 
were  there  with  her,  and  ladies  from  the  town  had 
brought  toys  and  sweets  for  the  little  creatures,  who, 
ignorant  of  their  surroundings,  looked  radiant  with 
health  and  happiness. 

A  curious  detail.  The  director,  pointing  out  to  me 
one  of  the  women,  tells  me  that  she  and  her  husband 
have  been  forty  years  in  Tasmania,  and  have  met  sev- 
eral times  without  recognizing  each  other. 

I  am  willing  to  believe  this ;  but,  looking  at  the 
woman,  a  horrible  harpy,  with  a  snarling  and  repulsive- 
looking  face,  I  think  the  husband  must  thank  his  stars 
that  here,  as  well  as  in  public  baths,  there  is  men's  side 
and  women's  side.     Recognize  his  wife  !  Not  he  ! 

Tasmania  has  but  two  towns  of  any  importance,  Laun- 
ceston,  and  Hobart,  the  capital.  The  first  of  these  has 
nothing  remarkable  about  it  but  a  superb  gorge  situ- 
ated at  the  entrance  to  the  town,  and  a  post  office,  the 


JOHN    BULL 


CO. 


215 


grotesque  architecture  of  which,  half  Flemish,  half 
Moorish,  as  it  is,  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  keep  the  in- 
habitants in  a  constant  state  of  hilarity.  The  gorge, 
along  the  bottom  of  which  a  rapid  torrent  rushes  be- 
tween two  most  picturesque  wooded  hills,  is  inducement 
enough  for  any  trav^eler  to  alight  at  Launceston. 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  GORGE,  LAUNCESTON. 


Hobart  is  incontestably  one  of  the  loveliest  spots  I 
have  visited. 

After  flat,  brown,  dusty,  hurrying  Melbourne,  it  was 
dehcious  to  ramble  about  this,  old-fashioned  town  and 
its  lovely  hills.  The  tram-car  bell  had  not  yet  tolled 
the  knell  of  old-fashioned   peace   and  graceful   repose, 


2l6 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


but  the  rails  were  laid,  and  cars  to  run  on  them   were 
being  landed. 

Hobart  is  charming,  whether  you  sit  on  the  shore  and 
look  on  the  blue  waters  of  the  harbor,  hedged  about 
everywhere  by  ranges  of  grand  hills,  the  foremost  green 
with  an  almost  English  verdure,  the  more  distant  ones 
blue  with  a  blueness  very  un-English ;  or  whether  you 


HOBART,    LOOKING    FROM    MOUNT   WELLINGTON. 

wander  up  through  the  straggling  town  to  make  nearer 
acquaintance  with  the  great  hills  that  tower  up  behind 
it,  getting  a  thrill  of  pleasure  as  Mount  Wellington's 
grandeur  gradually  dawns  on  your  senses.  The  splen- 
did roads,  all  the  work  of  the  convicts  of  former  days 
making  walking  a  pleasure.  The  one  which  winds  up 
by  the  side  of    Mount  Wellington,   and   leads  to  the 


\X 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  21^ 

Huon  river,  is  delightful.  When  you  are  a  couple  of 
miles  out  of  Hobart,  on  this  road,  you  have  a  charming 
view  of  the  quaint  jumble  of  houses  that  forms  the  lit- 
tle town,  the  clear,  smooth  water  of  the  harbor  it  sits 
looking  at,  and  the  sweet,  waving  blue  hills  beyond. 
Here,  too,  you  get  a  better  idea  of  Mount  Wellington's 
four  thousand  feet  of  grandeur  than  when  you  saw  the 
giant  from  the  town,  not  but  what  there  are  days  when 
it  seems  to  hang  over  the  streets,  almost  menacing  in 
its  magnificence.  The  air  is  perfumed  with  the  odor  of 
sweet-briar.  Hedges  of  this  plant,  covered  with  roses 
of  the  brightest  pink,  delighted  our  European  eyes  ; 
but  I  am  told  that  the  Tasmanian  farmer  looks  upon 
this  thing  of  beauty  as  anything  but  a  joy,  and  is  for- 
ever doing  battle  with  its  bold  tenacity  of  life. 

Ascending  all  the  time,  and  leaving  Mount  Welling- 
ton behind,  you  by  and  by  get  glimpses  of  the  ocean  on 
the  left,  away  out  between  the  hills  ;  and  the  road  winds 
along,  under  enormous  tall  trees,  past  deep  gullies  full 
of  ferns  and  luxuriant  flowering  shrubs,  past  gigantic 
hawthorns  that  made  one  wish  it  was  their  flower-time 
instead  of  their  seed-time.  At  every  turn  the  scene 
changes.  At  one  moment  you  are  in  a  wood,  and  at 
the  next  there  flashes  upon  you  a  sight  of  distant  sea, 
and  all  the  lovely  country  between  you  and  it. 

Speaking  of  flowering  shrubs  reminds  me  that  even  in 
Australia  proper  the  wealth  of  wild  flowers  is  remark- 
able. In  that  land  of  the  one  tree,  there  is  an  endless 
variety  of  wild  flowers.  Nature  has  been  as  lavish  on 
the  one  hand  as  she  has  been  niggardly  on  the  other. 

With  all  its  **  Sleepy  Hollow  "  appearance,  Hobart 
takes  the  lead  of  the  cities  on  the  mainland   in  some 


2l8  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

things.  It  was  the  first  to  open  the  doors  of  its  interest- 
ing museum  and  picture  gallery  to  the  public  on  Sun- 
days. 

I  would  fain  have  spent  a  month  wandering  around 
Hobart. 

Sir  Robert  Hamilton  had  just  retired  from  the  Gov- 
ernorship of  Tasmania,  and  he  and  his  charming  wife 
were  on  their  way  to  Europe  when  I  reached  Hobart.  I 
regretted  this  all  the  more,  in  that,  having  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  meeting  Lady  Hamilton  in  England  and  in  Ire- 
land, I  should  have  been  happy  to  spend  a  few  moments 
in  the  company  of  this  amiable  and  talented  lady. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

New  Zealand — Norway  and  Switzerland  at  the  Antipodes — The 
Point  of  the  Earth's  Surface  that  is  Farthest  from  Paris — 
The  Towns — No  Snakes,  but  a  Great  Many  Scots — The 
Small  Towns — A  Curious  Inscription. 

Of  all  the  English  Colonies,  New  Zealand  is  one  of 
the  most  prosperous  and  by  a  great  deal  the  most  pic- 
turesque. 

The  scenery  is  superb,  a  happy  combination  of  all 
that  Norway  and  Switzerland  have  to  show  in  the  way 
of  gorges,  lakes,  and  mountains.  Add  to  this  a  perfect 
climate,  a  fertile  soil,  a  well-spread  population,  intelli- 
gent and  industrious,  the  upper  classes  of  which  are 
amiable,  hospitable,  and  highly  cultivated ;  a  native 
population,  agreeable,  intelligent,  and  artistic  ;  and  you 
will  admit  that  here  is  a  privileged  country  where  peo- 
ple ought  to  be  content  with  their  lot. 

For  that  matter  they  are.  They  certainly  might  be 
with  less. 

I  had  not  long  to  wait  for  the  picturesque  in  New 
Zealand,  for  before  landing  at  the  BlufT,  the  southern 
point  of  the  island,  the  steamer,  out  of  pure  amiability, 
went  out  of  its  direct  route  to  enter  the  two  most  beau- 
tiful sheets  of  water  of  the  south  coast,  Milford  Sound 
and  George  Sound. 

The  entrance  to  Milford  Sound  is  just  wide  enough 
to  give  passage  to  the  boat,  which  for  nearly  an  hour 
follows  a  narrow  channel  between  immense  perpendic- 

219 


220 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


ular  mountains.  At  every  turn  the  scene  changes,  as  if 
by  enchantment.  Scarcely  have  you  fixed  your  gaze 
on  some  barren,  rugged  chffs,  when  you  have  before 
yoi^r  eyes  a  towering  mountain  clothed  with  ferns  as  tall 
as  palm-trees,  and  of  a  bright  green.  Soon  the  passage 
widens  and  becomes  a  succession  of  little  lakes,  around 
which  nature  surpasses  herself  in  chains  of  mountains 


MILFORD   SOUND,    NEW    ZEALAND — THE   MITRE    PEAK. 


capped  with  eternal  snow,  gorges,  cascades ;  and  the 
Bush,  such  as  one  only  sees  it  in  New  Zealand,  of  a  ra- 
diant green  freshness,  an  apparently  impenetrable  mass 
of  ferns  and  lovely  plants. 

I  had  never  seen  anything  so  wild  and  picturesque, 
so  entirely  grandiose.  I  would  have  liked  to  be  alone 
for  an  hour  with  this  unique  scenery. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


221 


George  Sound,  a  few  miles  farther  south,  is  almost  as 
beautiful  as  Milford  Sound. 

I  was  interested  to  hear  that  if  one  could  draw  a  line 
through  the  centre  of  the  earth  to  the  surface  of  the 
globe  on  the  other  side,  it  would  come  out  a  few  leagues 
from  Paris.  Thus  it  is  impossible,  while  on  earth,  for  a 
Parisian  to  be  farther  from  his  beloved  city  than  in 
George  Sound. 


DUNEDIN. 


New  Zealand  possesses  four  important  towns  of  from 
thirty-five  to  sixty  thousand  inhabitants — Dunedin, 
Christchurch,  Wellington,  and  Auckland.  It  will  not 
be  long  before  the  energetic  population  of  Invercargill 
attains  one  of  these  figures. 

The  lucky  inhabitants  of  this  beautiful  country  have 
every  blessing  that  can  help  them  towards  success — a 


222 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


perfect  climate,  a  fertile  soil,  no  wild  animals,  no  snakes, 
and  plenty  of  Scots. 

Dunedin,  capital  of  the  province  of  Otago,  is  as 
Scotch  as  Edinburgh,*  and  more  Scotch  than  Glasgow  ; 
so  Scotch  that  the  Chinese  in  Dunedin,  in  order  to  have 

any  chance    of 

^^^^m^sm^  ■  earning  their 

livelihood,  are 
obliged  to  call 
themselves,  not 
Lee  -  W  a  n  g  or 
Chee-Wang,  but 
MacWang. 

Christchurch, 
on  the  contrary, 
is  an  extremely 
English  town,  an 
Anglican  founda- 
tion with  a  choice 
society.  It  is  not, 
like  Dunedin,  a 
centre  of  com- 
mercial activity: 
it  is  the  rendez- 
vous of  colonial 
aristocracy,  the 
Mayfair  of  the 
Colonies. 

Wellington,  at  the  south  of  the  North  Island,  is  the 
seat  of  government.  The  town  is  admirably  situated, 
and  has  a  picturesque  harbor  that  brings  back  memories 

*  Edinburgh  formerly  was  called  Dunedin. 


-.-iiSM^-^ 


CHRISTCHURCH. 


TOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


223 


of  Hobart,  Tasmania.  The  largest  wooden  construction 
in  the  world  is  the  Parliament  House  at  Wellington. 
Its  enormous  dimensions  do  not  detract  from  its  grace. 
I  found  Wellington  society  delightful,  most  refined  and 
charming  ;  and  here,  as  in  the  great  Australian  towns, 
the  doors  of  good  society  hospitably  open. 

Auckland,  a  town  of  more  than  sixty  thousand  in- 
habitants,  overlooking  a  beautiful   harbor,  is  built  on 


rv 


WELLINGTON. 


picturesque  hills,  from  whence  most  beautiful  views  may 
be  obtained.  It  is  destined,  by  its  exceptional  situation 
and  the  energy  of  its  inhabitants,  to  attain  the  import- 
ance of  a  Melbourne  or  a  Sydney. 

The  rapidity  with  which  these  towns  grow  is  pro- 
digious. A  commercial  enterprise  is  launched.  After 
a  few  weeks  a  public-house  is  built,  a  bank  opens  its 
doors,  a  newspaper  is  started,  and  population  flows  in 


224 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


and  groups  itself  around  this  nucleus.  In  a  very  few 
years  it  has  become  a  flourishing  town.  Not  a  soldier, 
not  a  functionary.  This  is  what  strikes  a  Frenchman, 
whose  country  is  crippled  by  bureaucracy,  bound  down 

with  red  tape. 

A  witty  French 
traveler,  M.  Geor- 
ges Kohn,  in  his 
Voyage  aiitour  Du 
Monde,  a  volume 
full  of  clever  ob- 
servations and  un- 
flagging sprightli- 
ness,  exclaims: 

"  In  our  Colon- 
ies, the  first  build- 
ing is  a  police  sta- 
tion ;  the  second, 
that  of  the  tax-col- 
lector ;  the  third,  a 
statistic  ofifice,  and 
you  have  to  wait 
for  the  colonists, 
who  are  to  be 
looked  after,  tax- 
ed, judged,  and  especially  counted  by  the  census-taker." 
In  the  English  Colonies,  the  population  first,  the  in- 
tervention of  government  afterwards.  With  us  it  is 
the  government  first,  the  population — where  is  it  ?  It 
stays  at  home  in  France  ;  and  when  our  soldiers  have 
guaranteed  the  tranquillity  and  security  of  a  country, 
the  English,  the  Germans,  the  Danes,  the  Swedes,  the 


AUCKLAND  HARBOR,  FROM  CEMETERY  GULLY. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  22$ 

Chinese,  etc.,  etc.,  take  up  their  abode  there  ;  and  the 
good  French  taxpayer  at  home  asks,  as  he  pays  the 
bill,  "  Ce  qiion  est  allc  faire  dans  cettc  galcrc'' 

I  warrant  that,  out  of  our  thirty-six  millions  in 
France,  there  are  not  five  hundred  thousand  who  know 
just  where  the  French  Colonies  are.  I  warrant  that 
there  is  not  in  France  a  single  mother  (that  woman 
whose  empire  is  supreme  at  home)  who  does  not  op- 
pose the  emigration  of  her  sons,  and  prefer  for  them 
situations  as  quill  drivers  at  eighteen  hundred  francs  a 
year.  Try  and  found  colonies  while  such  sentiments 
reign !  The  British  Empire  was  founded  by  the 
spirit  of  independence  instilled  and  alimented  in  the 
Englishman  from  his  tenderest  age,  not  only  at  school, 
but  at  home. 

Besides  the  four  great  towns,  mention  must  be  made 
of  Invercargill,  Oamaru,  Timaru,  Nelson,  Napier,  Wan- 
ganui,  Palmerston,  all  towns  of  from  three  to  six  thous- 
and souls :  Nelson,  a  gem,  an  idyll,  a  miniature  Arca- 
dia, a  sleeping  beauty ;  Oamaru,  with  its  street  of  pal- 
aces ;  Wanganui,  with  a  monument,  the  inscription  upon 
which  is  a  chcf-cTanivrc  of  humor : 

**  To  the  memory  of  brave  men  who  fell  gloriously 
in  the  defence  of  law  and  order  against  barbarism  and 
fanaticism." 

You  think,  perhaps,  that  the  brave  men  mentioned 
were  the  poor  Maoris  who  were  killed  while  defending 
their  territory.  Not  at  all ;  they  were  the  Englishmen 
who  came  to  take  possession  of  the  country  and  de- 
prive them  of  their  liberty. 

The  towns  of  New  Zealand  are  coquettishly  built, 
the  streets   well  kept,   wide  and  straight.     The  large 


226  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

towns  all  possess  excellent    museums  and   fine  public 

gardens. 

The  Australians,  for  whom  a  five  days'  sea  voyage 
is  a  trifle,  go  in  great  numbers  to  New  Zealand  in  the 
summer  in  order  to  escape  the  heat  of  their  own  coun- 
try. If  New  Zealand  were  not  more  than  five  days' 
journey  from  Europe,  our  tourists  would  flock  there 
every  year  also. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  Maoris — Types — Tattooing — Ways  and  Customs — Native 
Chivalry — The  Legends  of  the  Country — Sir  George  Grey — 
Lucky  Landlords — The  "  Haka  " — The  Beautiful  Victoria 
— Maori  Villages — New  Zealand  the  Prettiest  Country  in 
the  World. 

In  Maoriland  you  find  a  race  of  superb  men  coupled 
to  hideous  women.  With  the  exception  of  the  young 
girls,  and  here  and  there  a  woman  of  a  Jewish  or  an 
Italian  type,  who  are  passable,  among  the  Maoris  the 
fair  sex  is  the  male  sex. 

The  men  are  nearly  all  of  the  same  type — tall,  well- 
built,  with  a  look  of  firmness  and  kindness  in  the  eyes. 
It  is  easy  to  see  you  are  in  presence  of  a  warlike  but 
chivalrous  race. 

The  women  are  of  many  types.  I  have  seen,  among 
the  female  Maoris,  Jewesses,  Spaniards,  and  Italians, 
negresses,  and  even  the  Australian  type.  The  skin  is 
of  a  deep  bronze,  the  mouth  enormous,  the  hair  short, 
thick,  and  badly  kept.  The  figure  is  of  a  heavy  build, 
with  large  haunches  and  hanging  breasts.  When  they 
are  married,  their  lips  and  chin  are  tattooed. 

Nothing  is  more  comical  than  to  see,  in  certain  towns, 
these  strange  forms  decked  out  in  great  loose  gowns  of 
white  or  pink,  humped  by  tournures  and  crinolines 
(over  and  above  those  with  which  nature  has  amply 
provided  them),  and  great  felt  hats  stuck  with  feathers, 
and,  to  complete  the  picture,  the  mouth  adorned  with  a 

227 


22S 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


short   pipe,  a  regular  navvy's    comforter.     These  gro- 
tesque creatures  have  a  coquetry  of  their  own.     Some 


PAIKIA. 
[I'rotn  a  Photograph  by  FoY  Brothers,    Jkames,  New  Zealand.^ 


of  them  go  so  far  as  to  have  their  backs  tattooed,  so  as 
to  be  fascinating  in  the  water  when  they  swim  ;  and  I 
one  day  had  as  much  as  I  could  do  to  persuade  a  Ma- 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


229 


ori  belle  that   on  this   subject  her  word  was  quite  suffi- 
cient for  me. 

With  the  men,  tattooing  has  long  been  out  of  fashion, 
but  among  the  older  Maoris  I  saw  marvelous  exam- 
ples of  the  practice.  The  forehead,  nose,  and  cheeks 
are  covered  with  a  freehand  design  in  dark  blue,  mak- 
ing the  face  repulsive  but  picturesque. 


MAORI    GREETING — RUBBING    NOSES, 
[from  a  Photogriiph  by  Burton  Bros.,  Dunedin,  New  Zealand.] 

The  Maori  men  are  Grands  Scignnirs^  who  make 
their  women  wait  upon  them,  but  who  never  ill-treat 
them.  They  adore  children,  and  make  excellent 
fathers. 

When  two  Maoris  meet,  they  are  quietly  demonstra- 
tive in  their  greetings.     They  press  each  other's  hands, 


230  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

and  remain,  while  one  might  count  twenty,  nose  laid 
against  nose,  without  movement,  without  speech — a 
few  instants  of  mute  exultation,  of  friendly  ecstasy. 

Their  language  is  the  softest  in  the  world.  Like 
those  of  the  Samoans  and  Hawaiians,  it  contains,  I  am 
told,  only  thirteen  letters.  It  is  A",  P,  Z,  N  that  you 
seem  to  hear  all  the  time.  Here  is  some  Maori ;  it  is 
the  notice  posted  in  all  the  New  Zealand  railway  sta- 
tions :  "  Kaua  e  Kai  paipa  Ki  Konei  "  (Smoking  is  Pro- 
hibited). It  has  very  much  the  sound  of  Greek,  has  it 
not  ? 

The  volubility  of  the  women  is  prodigious.  It  is  a 
torrent,  an  avalanche  of  words.  There  are  talkative 
women  in  all  countries,  but  you  would  search  the  world 
in  vain  for  a  human  being  who  could  compete  with  a 
Maori  woman.  You  should  see  these  gossips  sitting  in 
the  sun  in  a  circle,  pipe  in  mouth;  above  all,  you  should 
hear  them !  To  get  a  faint  idea  of  their  chatter,  pic- 
ture to  yourself  a  swarm  of  sparrows  around  a  handful 
of  crumbs.  The  conversation  does  not  seem  to  consist 
of  questions  and  answers,  or  of  remarks  suggested  one 
by  the  other ;  all  sp'^ak  at  once,  without  looking  at  one 
another,  without  appearing  to  listen  one  to  the  other, 
and  loudly  enough  to  make  themselves  giddy  in  a  few 
moments.  There  is  no  pausing  to  take  breath.  While 
one  cries  at  the  top  of  her  voice,  "  Koiomo,  Kalolulu^ 
tarakiti^  pikimolaka,  rarapa; "  another  vociferates, 
"  Kikirikiy  ratatatUy  molakolnhdu;''  the  others  accom- 
panying with,  "  Karawcra,  Ratapuni^  Kolololu,  Moloku- 
lo; "  then  all  start  together  in  chorus.  It  sets  one's 
head  whirling  to  listen  to  it.  The  faces  of  these  women 
remain  immobile,  and  have  a  slight  smile.     What  a  pity 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  23 1 

that  jealousy  should  be  unknown  among  them  !  a  scene 
of  jealousy,  a  war  of  words,  between  two  of  these  chat- 
terboxes would  be  something  never  to  be  forgotten.  I 
have  seen  men  try  to  take  part  in  the  conversation. 
They  mildly  ventured  to  give  forth  a  "  Kolokulu  "  or 
two,  which  no  doubt  signified,  "  Have  you  a  moment  to 
spare  ?  "  Then  they  sat  down,  and,  having  apparently 
given  up  all  hope  of  getting  a  word  in  edgewise, 
listened  calmly  to  the  babble,  or  composed  themselves 
to  sleep. 

The  Maoris  look  on  the  married  woman  from  the 
French  rather  than  the  English  standpoint,  when  there 
has  been  a  breach  in  the  marriage  bond. 

It  is  true  that  the  wife  owes  obedience  to  her  hus- 
band, but  he,  on  his  side,  is  bound  to  treat  her  well. 
The  wife  is  a  servant,  but  not  a  slave,  and  her  good  con- 
duct depends  upon  the  treatment  she  receives  from  her 
husband. 

The  Englishman,  deceived  by  his  wife,  says  to  him- 
self, "  If  some  one  had  stolen  my  horse,  I  should  be 
entitled  to  damages ;  now  I  have  a  still  stronger  claim 
to  damages,  since  it  is  my  wife  that  I  have  been  robbed 
of."  He  pleads  before  the  civil  court,  and  demands 
monetary  compensation  from  his  wife's  lover  for  the 
"alienation  of  her  affections."  The  Englishman  does 
not  say  to  himself,  "  My  wife  differs  from  my  horse  in 
that  she  can  think,  and  if  she  has  been  unfaithful  to  me, 
there  is  no  robbery,  since  she  has  not  been  taken  by 
force,  but  has  acted  with  her  eyes  open." 

In  France,  it  is  the  husband  of  an  unfaithful  wife 
who  is  covered  with  ridicule,  and  not  she  who  is  covered 
with  shame ;  and,  to  explain  the  error  of  her  conduct, 


232  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

the  public  looks  for  defects  in  him,  and  seeks  excuses 
for  her. 

Among  the  Maoris,  when  a  wife  deceives  her  hus- 
band, people  say,  "If  he  had  treated  his  wife  well,  this 
thing  would  not  have  happened  ; "  and  until  the  truth 
of  the  matter  has  been  sifted  out,  the  husband  is  looked 
askance  at.  If  it  is  discovered  that  he  has  not  been  a 
good  husband,  and  that  his  wife  had  fair  reason  to  con- 
sider herself  ill-used,  her  tribe  often  takes  revenge  by- 
making  raids  on  the  "pah"  to  which  the  husband 
belongs,  and  pillaging  the  huts ;  and  the  husband's 
people  admit  the  justice  of  the  proceeding  by  allowing 
themselves  to  be  plundered  without  trying  to  defend 
their  belongings,  and  without  even  making  a  com- 
plaint. 

The  Maori  does  not  exact  that  h\s  fiancee  should  be 
virtuous,  and  she  very  seldom  is ;  but  when  he  has  mar- 
ried her,  he  demands  that  she  shall  be  faithful  to  him, 
and  it  is  very  rarely  that  his  conduct  to  his  wife  fur- 
nishes her  with  an  excuse  for  going  wrong. 

When  two  Maoris  are  taken  flagrante  delicto^  they 
are  tied  together  and  exposed  for  three  days  to  the  in- 
sults of  their  fellow-creatures,  who  spit  on  them  and 
subject  them  to  all  kinds  of  ignominy.  At  the  end  of 
three  days,  they  are  driven  out  of  the  tribe,  and  the 
reprisals  which  I  spoke  of  above  take  place,  if  the  con- 
duct of  the  husband  toward  his  wife  has  given  her  any 
ground  of  excuse  for  infidelity. 

Adultery  is  an  offence  keenly  felt  among  the  Maoris, 
and  it  has  often  been  the  cause  of  desperate  fights  be- 
tween different  tribes. 

The  Maoris  have  a  vivid  and  poetical  imagination. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  233 

This  is  how  a  Maori  expressed  himself  on  the  beauty 
of  EngHsh  women  : 

"  Beauty  in  our  women  is  Hke  a  lovely  spring  day. 
A  squall  arises,  and  all  has  disappeared.  The  English 
women's  beauty  lasts  longer.  They  are  lovely  as  the 
morning.  Roses  are  mantling  on  their  cheeks,  and  the 
azure  of  the  firmament  is  reflected  in  their  eyes." 

They  have  some  exquisitely  poetical  legends.  The 
Maoris  tell  their  children  that,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  the  Heaven  and  the  Earth  were  married,  but  that 
they  were  separated  by  their  children,  the  winds.  *'  Up 
to  this  time  they  have  remained  separated.  Yet  their 
mutual  love  still  continues — the  soft  warm  sighs  of  her 
loving  bosom  still  ever  rise  up  to  him,  ascending  from 
the  woody  mountains  and  valleys,  and  men  call  these 
mists  ;  and  the  vast  Heaven,  as  he  mourns  through  the 
long  nights  his  separation  from  his  beloved,  drops  fre- 
quent tears  upon  her  bosom,  and  men,  seeing  these 
call  them  dewdrops."  * 

The  Maori  mythology,  full  as  it  is  of  the  most  poet- 
ical and  fantastic  legends,  shows  what  an  imaginative 
mind  this  race  has  always  had. 

Sir  George  Grey  has  collected  all  these  legends  and 
published  them  in  English,  and  in  the  Maori  language, 
of  which  he  is  a  perfect  master.  This  is  one  of  the 
least  of  the  things  that  Sir  George  Grey  has  done  for 
New  Zealand.  Late  Governor-in-Chief  of  New  Zealand, 
he  is  the  greatest  administrator  that  England  ever  sent 
to  her  Colonies.  His  name  is  still  venerated  in  South 
Africa,  as  it  is  in  New  Zealand.  Arriving  in  the  latter 
country  in  most  troublous  times,  the  first  thing  he  did 

*  Sir  George  Grey's  Polynesian  Mythology, 


234  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

was  to  master  the  Ma*  i  language,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
hear  and  understand  for  himself  the  grievances  of  the 
chiefs,  and  he  grew  so  fond  of  the  people  that  he  has 
lived  among  them  ever  since,  ruling  over  them  in  a 
spirit  of  justice,  consideration,  conciliation,  and  modera- 
tion. To  this  day  the  Maoris  swear  by  him,  and  look 
upon  him  as  their  guardian  angel,  although  he  no  longer 
governs  them,  but  sits  in  the  New  Zealand  Parliament 
as  an  ordinary  member,  keenly  watching  over  their  in- 
terests. If  England  always  sent  to  her  Colonies  repre- 
sentatives of  the  stamp  of  Sir  George  Grey,  her  name 
would  be  venerated  wherever  the  Union  Jack  floats. 

The  Maoris  are  lazy  and  proud.  They  pass  their  time 
in  sleeping,  smoking,  and  lounging  in  the  sun  in  a  deli- 
cious otiuni  cum  dignitate.  In  Africa,  the  aborigines 
are  servants,  carters,  drovers,  errand  boys,  general  handy 
men ;  in  short,  they  work  for  the  whites.  The  Maori 
does  not  work  for  the  whites ;  it  is  the  whites  who 
work  for  him.  Only  the  women  will  make  themselves 
useful. 

The  Maoris  are  admirably  treated  by  the  English, 
who  have  left  them,  in  the  centre  of  the  North  Island, 
a  large  territory  with  undisputed  possession,  called 
King's  Country.  They  let  their  land  to  the  English, 
and  live  on  their  rents,  and  there  is  humor  in  English 
people  having  Maoris  for  landlords.  Some  of  them 
enjoy  large  revenues.  I  heard  of  one  whose  income 
amounted  to  fifteen  thousand  pounds  a  year. 

Near  Wanganui  I  saw  English  workmen  making  a 
pirogue  for  some  Maoris,  and  actually  executing  Maori 
carvings,  while  their  dusky  employers,  voluptuously 
stretched  on  the  grass  smoking  their  pipes,  gave  them 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  235 

di**cctions  ivithout  even  taking  the  trouble  to  raise  them- 
selves. 

The  Maoris  are  a  licentious  people.  •  Their  dances 
are  obscene:  the  carvings  with  which  their  houses  are 
ornamented  are  grossly  indecent ;  their  god  is  Priapus, 
and  their  actions  and  language  show  that  phallus  is  a 
fixed  idea  with  them. 

The  Jiaka^  a  madly  intoxicating  dance,  is  a  saraband 
where  men  and  women  bound  and  writhe,  indulging  in 
all  kinds  of  revolting  gestures.  I  only  saw  a  mild  fam- 
ily liaka,  a  dance  quite  anodyne  and  most  proper  com- 
pared to  the  veritable  /taka,  which  I  took  on  trust. 
Human  nature  interests  me  everywhere,  and  I  resign 
myself  to  nearly  every  sight,  sound,  and  even  often 
smell,  to  get  a  clearer  insight  into  the  ways  of  the  peo- 
ple among  whom  I  happen  to  be  ;  but  there  are  times 
when  it  is  necessary  to  draw  the  line  and  not  go  to  ex- 
tremes, and  if  there  is  an  extreme  in  this  world  it  is  the 
Maori  haka.  This  dance  is  now  prohibited  by  the  Eng- 
lish. In  its  mad  fascination  the  Maoris  lose  all  self- 
control,  and  abandon  themselves,  in  shameless  fashion, 
to  the  most  revolting  acts.  It  is  a  frightful  saturnalia, 
but  has  such  an  irresistible  attraction  for  them  that, 
when  once  begun,  the  whole  neighborhood  pours  in  and 
joins  in  the  dance,  which  continues  till  exhaustion  su- 
pervenes. 

In  a  Maori  house,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wanganui, 
I  had  the  honor  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  Wic,* 
in  her  time  a  famous  Maori  belle.  She  was  lying  on 
the  floor  smoking  a  pipe.  She  rose  and  ^^liook  hands 
with  me.     The  ex-siren  is  over  forty,  but  still  has  rem- 

*  Abbreviation  for  Victoria. 


236  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

nants  of  great  beauty.  For  a  long  time  she  led  a  loose 
life  in  the  cities,  but  she  has  now  returned  to  the  fold, 
and  become  the  docile  and  faithful  wife  of  a  Maori. 
She  smokes  her  pipe  and  dreams  of  youthful  triumphs, 
and  her  husband  is  so  proud  of  his  bargain  that  he  ex- 
empts her  from  all  manual  labor.  It  is  related  of  her 
that  she  was  one  night  in  the  box  of  a  theatre,  where 
gentlemen  had  taken  her  to  see  a  troop  of  Maoris  per- 
form. She  was  attired  in  European  evening-dress. 
Presently  the  Jiaka  begins,  but,  of  course,  a  very  well- 
behaved  one,  so  as  not  to  shock  the  audience  too  much. 
This  does  not  suit  Wic,  who  thinks  the  sport  rather 
slow.  Moreover,  she  grows  hot  with  shame  and  anger 
at  the  idea  that  the  haka  is  going  on  and  she  is  not  of 
it.  The  sight  of  the  dance,  proper  and  restricted  though 
it  be,  electrifies  her.  She  cannot  stand  it  any  longer. 
Away  with  the  dress,  the  corset,  and  the  rest.  In  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye  she  is  free.  With  a  bound  she  leaps 
onto  the  stage,  leads  the  dance,  and,  by  her  yells  and 
excitement,  works  the  others  up  to  such  a  pitch  of  delir- 
ium that  the  audience,  horrified  and  fearful,  make  for 
the  doors  in  all  haste,  leaving  Wic  and  her  comrades  in 
full  possession  to  finish  their  Sabbath. 

The  pah^  or  Maori  village,  is  a  collection  of  wooden 
cabins  surrounded  by  a  fence,  nearly  every  post  of 
which  is  surmounted  by  a  grinning  manikin  in  wood, 
with  protruding  tongue,  crooked  legs,  hands  crossed 
over  the  stomach,  a  huge  mouth,  and  oblique  eyes  of 
mother-of-pearl.  This  horribly  grimacing  figure  reap- 
pears on  each  side  and  over  the  door  of  every  cabin. 

The  house  consists  of  one  large  square  room,  the 
walls  and  the  floor  of  which  are  covered  with  woven 


JOHN    BULT,    &    CO. 


^17 


matting.  The  roof  descends  to  the  ground  on  either 
side,  and  is  arched  over  the  door,  pagoda  fashion.  The 
interior  of  the  hut  is  used  as  a  dormitory,  where  the 
sexes  are  divided,  as  in  pubHc  baths,  minus  the  partition. 
Not  more  than  thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  the  Maoris 
were  cannibals  ;  but  see  how  times  have  changed  them  ! 
To-day,  four  Maoris  are  members  of  the  New  Zealand 


MAORI    PAH. 
\From  a  Photogt  aph  by  Burton  Bros.,  Dunedin,  New  Zialiind.\ 


Parliament,  and  one  of  them  is  said  to  have  assisted 
in  his  youth  at  cannibal  feasts,  where  the  menu  con- 
sisted of  human  steaks  and  tit-bits.  These  Maoris  are 
in  Parliament  to  defend  the  rights  and  interests  of  the 
natives. 

Does  not  a  fact  like  this  help  us  to  understand  the 
success  of  the  undertakings  of  the  firm,  John  Bull  &  Co,  ? 


2^% 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


'  In  all  parts  of  New  Zealand,  even  in  King's  Country, 
the  Maoris  go  to  school,  and  they  shine  everywhere  by 
their  intelligence.  Some  of  them  at  present  occupy 
honorable  posts  in  Government  offices.  But  such  is  the 
nomadic  and  wild  instinct  of  the  race,  that  when  a  Maori 
is  seized  with  an  irresistible  impulse  to  leave  the  town 
and  revisit  \ns  pah,  he  seldom  returns. 


BUSH    CREEK,    NEW   ZEALAND. 
[From  a  Pkotogra/'k  by  J.  Valkntine  &  Son,  Dundee.} 

Drink,  contact  and  intermarriage  with  the  whites, 
etiolate  the  Maoris,  and  in  every  part  of  New  Zealand 
except  King's  Country,  where  they  lead  their  natural 
life,  their  numbers  are  rapidly  decreasing. 

Adieu,  New  Zealand,  most  beautiful  of  tands.  Often 
I  think  of  thy  poetical  legends,  and  feast  my  eyes  again 
in  imagination  on  thy  lovely  landscapes !     I  would  fain 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  239 

enjoy  again  the  hospitality  of  thy  kind  inhabitants,  and 
Hsten  to  the  Hquid  language  of  thy  natives.     I  fancy 
I    hear   again  their  melodious  Alokololulu,    Kirikitata, 
Warakewera^  Waramanatikipu, 
Good-bye  !     Ta-ta  ! 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

From  Melbourne  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope — The  Australasian 
— Sunday  on  Board  Ship — Conversions — Death  of  a  Poor 
Mother — Ceremony — Table  Bay — Arrival  at  Cape  Town. 

Several  companies  send  from  London  to  Australia 
ships  which  touch  at  the  Cape  on  the  way ;  but  only 
the  Aberdeen  liners  go  from  Australia  to  the  Cape  ; 
the  others  continue  their  route  around  the  world  by 
Cape  Horn  and  Rio  Janeiro.  There  is  consequently 
no  choice. 

I  remember  having  read  in  Mr.  Froude's  interest- 
ing Oceana^  that  the  great  historian  had  made  the  voy- 
age from  England  to  Melbourne  on  board  the  Austra- 
lasian. Seeing  by  the  papers  that  this  ship  was  about 
to  sail,  I  said  to  myself,  "If  the  Australasian  is  good 
enough  for  Mr.  Froude,  it  is  certainly  good  enough  for 
me,"  and  I  went  forthwith  to  engage  cabins. 

The  distance  from  Melbourne  to  the  Cape  is  about 
six  thousand  miles.  The  Australasian  does  the  voyage 
in  twenty-two  days.  Twenty-two  days  lost  out  of  one's 
life,  spent  in  doing  nothing ;  the  most  monotonous,  the 
most  wearisome  interval,  during  which  not  one  glimpse 
of  land  is  to  be  had. 

Never  mind,  thought  I,  I  shall  utilize  those  twenty- 
two  days  for  work. 

Work  !     Alas  !  man  proposes,  but  the  sea  mdisposes. 

And  the  Sundays !  Oh,  the  Sundays !  Even  the 
harmless  games  that  are  played  on  board  ship  on  week- 

240 


JOHN     lUTLL    &    CO.  241 

days  are  suspended.  It  would  be  shocking  to  play  a 
game  of  quoits ;  chess,  I  suppose,  would  be  criminal. 
If  you  were  to  propose  an  innocent  game  of  bcggar-niy- 
iicighbor,  the  passengers  would  veil  their  faces  in  dis- 
may at  your  boldness.  Reading  and  hymn-singing  are 
the  only  pastimes  tolerated.  It  is  curious  the  connec- 
tion there  is  in  some  minds  between  high  sanctity  and 
flat  music.  Those  who  cannot  sing,  lounge  about  the 
ship  and  read  and  yawn  away  the  day,  and  long  for  the 
Monday.  We  are  thirty-two  passengers  in  the  saloon. 
Out  of  these  there  are  not  two  w^ho  do  not  express  their 
regrets  at  having  to  pass  their  Sundays  thus,  but,  mind 
you,  there  is  not  one  who  dares  venture  to  be  frank  and 
sincere  and  to  act  according  to  his  conscience.  It  is  the 
fear  of  the  qu'cn  dira-t-on  in  all  its  idiocy;  it  is  cowardice 
pure  and  simple. 

It  is  impossible  to  travel  on  an  English  boat  without 
having  the  bore  who  seeks  to  convert  you,  and  that  be- 
fore trying  to  find  out  whether  his  victim  may  not  hap- 
pen to  be  as  good  a  Christian  as  he.  He  was  on  board 
the  Australasian.  Every  Sunday  he  held  classes  in  the 
saloon.  He  had  succeeded  in  persuading  half  a  dozen 
passengers  to  go  and  hear  him  road  a  chapter  of  the 
Bible  and  discuss  its  contents.  He  had  his  own  views. 
Where  is  the  true-born  Englishman  who  has  not  his  own 
views  on  theology  ?  It  is  a  craze.  I  know  few  English- 
men who  would  not  be  able  to  preach  a  sermon  to  their 
neighbors,  and  found  a  new  religion. 

This  good  man  declared  music  to  be  '*  one  of  the 
snares  of  Satan,"  and  every  time  we  made  a  little  music 
on  deck  to  enliven  our  evenings,  he  kept  away.  The 
English  nation  alone  can  boast  of  producing  this  species, 


242  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

and  no  nation   in  the  world  thinks  of   being  jealous  of 
the  production. 

Day  followed  day,  and  each  resembled  the  one  before. 

Not  a  single  incident  to  break  the  monotony  of  the 
three  weeks'  passage. 

Or  rather,  yes,  there  was  one,  and  a  very  pathetic 
one,  too. 

We  had  among  the  second-class  passengers  a  gentle 
old  woman  of  over  seventy,  the  mother  of  two  married 
daughters,  one  living  at  the  Cape,  the  other  in  Aus- 
tralia. Having  lost  her  husband,  the  good  soul  had 
realized  the  little  money  at  her  disposal  and  had  gone 
to  her  daughter  at  the  Cape  to  seek  a  home  with  her. 
This  daughter  had  sent  her  on  to  the  sister  in  Austra- 
lia, but  the  poor  woman  was  not  to  find  rest  there. 
Her  son-in-law  would  none  of  her,  and  she  had  been 
fain  to  embark  for  the  Cape  again  to  see  if  daughter 
number  one  would  not  give  her  shelter  for  her  re- 
maining days. 

Struck  with  apoplexy,  she  died  in  mid-ocean.  The 
previous  Sunday  I  had  noticed  her  at  divine  service, 
dressed  in  her  best,  and  looking  almost  happy.  Her 
corpse  was  sewn  up  in  canvas,  covered  with  the  Union 
Jack,  and  brought  on  deck.  Surrounded  by  passengers 
and  crew,  the  captain  read  the  burial  service,  and  at 
the  moment  where  the  words,  "  I  commit  thy  body  to 
the  deep,"  were  substituted  for,  *'  Dust  to  dust  and 
ashes  to  ashes,"  the  boat  stopped  steam,  and  the  sail- 
ors, who  retained  the  body  by  cords,  lowered  it  into 
the  sea  amid  impressive  silence.  The  boat,  having 
deposited  its  burden  in  the  ocean,  steamed  ahead 
again.     The  dead   woman's  purse  contained  two  shil- 


JOHN    BULI.    &    CO.  243 

lings  and  sevenpence  half-penny,  and  the  daughter  she 
wanted  to  join  at  the  Cape  lived  sixty  miles  from  Cape 
Town  ! 

The  poor  mother  had  found  rest,  and  there  was  no 
need  now  for  her  children  to  trouble  about  her  ;  at  last 
they  were  rid  of  that  useless  piece  of  furniture  which 
the  lower-class  English  call  mother. 

A  few  flying-fish,  from  time  to  time  a  school  of  por- 
poises, once  or  twice  a  whale — beyond  that  nothing. 
The  blue  sky  overarching  the  blue  sea. 

At  last,  on  the  2d  of  April,  1893,  \vc  sighted  the 
coast  of  Africa,  and  soon  we  were  following  it  pretty 
closely  from  Algoa  Bay  to  Table  Bay,  in  which  nestles 
Cape  Town,  the  capital  of  Cape  Colony. 

Before  entering  Table  Bay,  we  passed  Danger  Point, 
where  in  1852  the  transport  ship  Birkenhead  came  to 
grief  and  sank,  while  the  soldiers  on  board,  seeing  death 
inevitable,  said  "  Good-bye  "  to  the  world  by  singing 
"  God  Save  the  Queen." 

I  do  not  know  any  town  more  picturesquely  situated 
than  Cape  Town.  The  houses  are  dotted  over  an  area 
of  four  or  five  miles,  at  the  foot  of  three  mountains,  the 
central  one  of  which  stands  up  four  thousand  feet  into 
the  air,  and  has  a  breadth  of  two  miles  at  the  top. 
The  summit  of  this,  Table  Mountain,  is  an  immense 
plateau,  which,  seen  from  the  sea,  is  perfectly  horizon- 
tal. Often  it  is  covered  with  clouds  that  spread  over 
its  surface  and  fall  on  either  side,  giving  just  the  appear- 
ance of  a  white  tablecloth.  It  looks  as  if  the  table  were 
spread  for  some  Titan  of  those  parts. 

The  clouds  have  melted,  the  sun  goes  down  in  a  bed 
of  gold,  throwing  its  fires  on  every  corner  of  the  pano- 


244  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

rama.  An  hour  later,  the  moon  inundates  the  scene 
with  her  ghostly  light.  The  engines  are  stopped,  and 
the  boat  lies  in  the  offing,  ready  to  continue  her  journey 
to-morrow. 

Not  a  sound  reaches  our  ears  as  we  lie  at  anchor. 
Only  the  thousands  of  lights  glittering  in  the  town  re- 
mind us  that  we  are  among  our  fellow-creatures  once 
more. 

We  shall  land  to-morrow  morning. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Anglo-Dutch — John  Bull,  Charged  with  the  Care  of  the  Cape  for 
the  Prince  of  Orange,  Keeps  it  for  Himself — Mixture  of 
Races — Cape  Town — The  Town  and  its  Environs — Paarl — 
The  Huguenots — Stellenbosch — Happy  Folk — Drapers'  As- 
sistants—  Independence  a  Characteristic  Feature  of  the 
South  Africans. 

South  Africa  is  composed  of  two  English  colonies, 
one  of  which,  Cape  Colony,  is  very  Dutch ;  of  two  inde- 
pendent Dutch  republics,  which  are  perfectly  English  ; 
of  several  territories,  such  as  Bechuanaland,  Mashona- 
land,  Zululand,  Pondoland,  Basutoland,  Nyassaland, 
Matabeleland,  and  of  a  few  other  little  lands  protected 
by  the  firm,  John  Bull  &  Co. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  century  the  Cape  was  still 
a  Dutch  colony,  but  the  English,  fearing  that  Napo'eon, 
who  had  just  placed  his  brother  Louis  on  the  throne  of 
Holland,  might  make  use  of  the  Cape  to  possess  him- 
self of  India,  installed  themselves  there  in  1806  to  take 
care  of  it  for  the  Prince  of  Orange,  dethroned  by  Buona- 
parte. 

Now,  one  of  John  Bull's  mottoes  is  that  of  the  late 
Marshal  MacMahon,  '^  fy  siiis.fy  rcste  " — Here  I  am, 
and  here  I  stay.  He  was  in  the  Cape,  and  he  stayed 
there.  You  would  more  easily  withdraw  a  lump  of  but- 
ter from  a  dog's  mouth  than  John  Bull  from  the  terri- 
tory where  he  has  installed  himself. 

245 


246  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

The  colony  was  definitely  cedetl  to  the  Knp^lish  in 
1815  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris. 

Many  old  Dutch  families  are  still  to  be  found  in  the 
principal  towns  of  the  south  of  the  colony,  but  the 
active  Dutch  element,  the  farmers,  must  have  steadily 
retired  northward  as  the  English  advanced.  These 
Dutchmen,  now  known  as  Boers,  went  and  founded 
the  Orange  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal,  or  South 
African  Republic  ;  but  now  they  cannot  very  well  go 
any  farther,  for  the  English  have  just  taken  possession 
of  Matabeleland,  and  the  circle  is  made :  the  Boers 
are  now  completely  surrounded,  at  the  south  by  the 
Cape,  on  the  west  by  Bechuanaland,  on  the  north  by 
Mashonaland  and  Matabeleland,  and  on  the  east  by 
Natal,  Zululand,  and  a  Portuguese  territory,  which  the 
English  w^U  never  allow  them  to  acquire,  even  if  the 
Portuguese  should  ever  be  willing  to  sell  it,  for  this 
territory  contains  Delagoa  Bay,  the  only  harbor  of 
South  Africa. 

What  is  the  political  future  of  the  Boers,  that  hand- 
ful of  people,  antiquated  and  stubborn,  but  brave  and 
patriotic,  who  occupy  a  country  emboweled  with  gold  ? 
We  may  be  able  to  answer  the  question  presently.  An 
interesting  interview  w^ith  President  Kruger  will  help 
us.     But  let  us  stay  a  moment  in  the  Cape. 

The  South  African  Colonies  differ  essentially  from 
those  of  Australasia.  The  latter  are  purely  British, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  the  Maoris  of  New  Zealand, 
the  native  population  is  little  seen,  save  in  skeleton 
form,  adorning  the  museums  of  the  large  towns.  In 
South  Africa,  the  white  population  is  mixed,  British 
and  Dutch  ;  and  the  colored  population,  far  from  being 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  247 

extinct,  seems  everywhere  to  be  full  of  life,  an  African 
antl  Asiatic  population,  ranginj^  from  the  ebony  black 
of  the  Zulus  to  the  rich  olive  of  the  Malays:  Hotten- 
tots, Kafifirs,  Zulus,  Fingos,  Pondos,  Basutos,  etc. 

I  like  Cape  Town,  with  its  old  Dutch  houses,  the 
animation  of  its  streets,  the  splendor  of  its  public  build- 
in<^s,  its  Parliament,  its  gardens,  its  picturesque  environs, 
its  refined  society,  its  Malay  population — whose  women 
look  like  Madonnas  adorned  for  a  great  church  proces- 
sion. 

Every  day  I  used  to  go  and  feast  my  eyes  on  a  su- 


TABLE   MOUNTAIN. 


perb  view.  Taking  up  a  position  at  the  end  of  Adder- 
ley  Street,  I  had,  on  the  right,  the  Museum  and  the 
Botanical  Gardens ;  in  front,  an  immense  avenue  of 
centenary  oaks ;  on  the  left,  the  Parliament ;  and,  as  a 
background  for  the  whole.  Table  Mountain,  which 
seemed  to  almost  overhang  the  landscape.  I  could 
never  tire  my  eyes  of  this  magnificent  sight. 

A  drive  that  I  shall  never  forget  is  one  that  I  took 
in  company  with  the  late  M.  Joseph  Perrette,  F'rench 
consul  at  the  Cape,  and  several  friends.  We  first 
passed   through   the   fashionable  suburbs   of   Newland 


248  JOHN    mi  LI.  &   CO. 

and  Clarcmont,  which  arc  scattered  over  with  lovely 
villas,  set  in  a  veritable  forest  of  oaks  and  eucalyptus  ; 
then  we  saw  the  smiling  plains  of  Constantia,  celebrated 
for  the  good  wine  they  produce  ;  from  thence  we  went 
through  a  delightfully  undulating  country  to  Houts 
Bay,  where,  under  a  blue  sky  and  a  genial  sun,  wc 
lunched  in  the  garden  of  a  family  of  Kaflfirs.  After 
that,  following  the  contour  of  the  mountain,  we  re-en- 
tered Cape  Town  by  the  Victoria  Road.  I  do  not 
know  Sorrento,  but  I  can  scarcely  believe  that  it  can 
be  possible  to  take  a  lovelier  drive  than  the  one  we 
took  around  Table  Mountain. 

About  twenty  miles  from  Cape  Town  there  are  two 
most  picturesque  and  interesting  little  towns,  perfectly 
Dutch,  named  Paarl  and  Stellenbosch. 

Paarl  (Pearl)  is  composed  of  a  single  street  seven 
miles  in  length,  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  range,  along 
a  narrow  valley.  This  town  is  the  cradle  of  the  Afri- 
kander-Bond, a  patriotic  association  which  has  for  its 
object  the  future  emancipation  of  South  Africa.  It 
was  here,  too,  that  a  number  of  Huguenots  took  up 
their  abode  in  the  beginning  of  last  century.  The  De 
Villiers,  the  Duplessis,  the  Du  Toits,  the  Leroux,  are 
everywhere  ;  they  fill  the  highest  and  the  most  lowly 
posts ;  a  pious  population,  peaceful,  intelligent,  and 
hard-working.  Those  descendants  of  the  Huguenots, 
victims  of  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  I 
have  seen  them  in  England,  in  Holland,  in  America, 
everywhere  the  same.  It  was  the  cream  of  France 
which  was  obliged  to  leave  the  country  in  1685  that 
Madame  de  Maintenon  might  become  a  king's  wife. 
These     Huguenots    are    completely    lost    to    France. 


JOHN   m  LL  \    CO.  249 

Those  I  met  in  Africa  not  only  speak  no  word  of 
French,  but  they  do  not  even  know  how  to  pronounce 
their  own  names. 

I  was  kmching  one  day  on  board  the  Scot,  the  finest 
and  fastest  boat  which  phcs  between  Engkand  and 
South  Africa.  Many  notabiHties  of  Cape  Town  had  been 
invited.  The  director  of  the  company  whispered  to 
me,  *' There  is  the  Chief-Justice  of  the  colony.  I  will 
introduce  you  to  him  ;  his  name  is  Sir  Henry  di  Filchi." 
*'  Di  Filchi,"  I  replied ;  *'  how  do  you  spell  the 
name  ?  " 

''V-i-l-l-i-e-r-s,"  he  said. 

"You  don't  say  so  !  "  I  exclaimed  ;  *'  and  that  makes 
Filchi  ?     Can  it  be  possible  ?  " 
This  is  how  it  came  about. 

When  those  Huguenots  took  refuge  in  Holland,  and 
from  thence  went  and  settled  in  the  Cape,  then  a  Dutch 
colony,  they  found  a  tyrannical  government  that  for- 
bade them  to  speak  French,  or  teach  it  to  their  chil- 
dren. At  the  end  of  fifty  years  they  had  become 
Dutch;  to-day  they  are  British  subjects,  but  their  hearts 
are  more  Dutch  than  English.  As  for  France,  they 
have  completely  forgotten  it.  Alas  !  what  do  they  owe 
to  France,  who  ignominiously  chased  them  from  her 
shores  ? 

If  yo'i  go  to  Canada,  you  will  find  a  French  popula- 
tion that  has  been  subject  to  Great  Britain  for  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  past,  but  these  have  remained 
French  in  heart.  Not  only  do  they  continue  to  speak 
French,  but  they  do  not,  and  will  not,  speak  anything 
else.  I  mean  the  masses,  of  course.  John  Bull  leaves 
them  alone.      He  says  to  them,  '*  Speak  what  you  please, 


250  JOHN     HULL    &    CO. 

worship  God  as  you  will ; "  and  those  French  Catholics 
of  the  seventeenth  century  have  remained  French  and 
Catholic,  so  that  to  visit  them  is  to  visit  the  France  of 
two  hundred  years  ago. 

This  is  a  fact  which,  among  a  thousand  others,  has 
explained  to  me  the  success  of  the  English.  They  are 
past  masters  in  diplomacy.  The  governing  hand  is 
firm,  but  wears  a  velvet  glov^e.  They  seem  to  say,  **  Do 
not  mind  us,  make  yourself  at  home."  But  John  Bull 
is  there  all  the  time. 

The  town  of  Paarl  received  its  name  from  a  rock 
situated  on  the  top  of  the  mountain,  which  is  said  to 
resemble  pearl  when  the  sun  strikes  it.  I  was  quite 
willing  to  believe  it,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  see  it : 
and  if  you  wish  to  please  the  Paarl  people,  I  advise  you 
to  do  the  same.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Southern  Cross, 
faith  is  a  great  help. 

There  are  skeptics  who  believe  because  they  see ; 
there  are  more  accommodating  people  who  see  because 
they  believe. 

If  every  town  in  the  world  should  take  part  in  a 
revolution,  Paarl  and  her  neighbor  Stellenbosch  would 
be  the  very  last  to  join.  Nothing  more  peaceful  could 
be  conceived  than  these  two  pretty  little  towns.  Hard- 
ly a  creature  in  the  streets.  About  three  o'clock  a  few 
people  indulge  in  a  sedate,  slow  walk. 

Stellenbosch  is  embowered  in  oaks  which  were 
brought  from  Europe,  and  flourish  in  this  climate  like 
the  proverbial  green  bay.  Every  street  is  an  avenue, 
a  cathedral  nave  of  green  leafiness  which  the  sun  scarce- 
ly penetrates.  Along  the  streets,  on  either  side,  runs  a 
stream  in  which  the  housewife  does  the  family  wash. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  251 

The  snow-white  houses  with  their  orange-colored  shut- 
ters are  quite  picturesque.  Outdoor  foot-gear  must  be 
taken  off  at  the  door,  I  should  think,  as  in  Holland. 
The  bright  colors,  the  luxuriant  greenery,  the  eternal 
blue  sky,  make  up  a  delicious  picture  of  calm  and  re- 
pose. 

From  twelve  to  two,  the  shops  of  Paarl  and  Stellen- 
bosch  are  closed.  The  worthy  shopkeepers  are  dining 
and  taking  a  siesta,  and  as  their  customers  are  doing 
the  same,  trade  in  no  wise  suffers.  What  a  contrast  to 
those  feverish  Americans  who  at  one  o'clock  put  up  on 
their  door,  *'  Gone  to  dinner ;  back  in  five  minutes." 
Ah,  my  good  De  Villiers,  Duplessis,  and  Du  Toits,  how 
sensible  of  you  !  Five  minutes  for  dinner,  what  folly  I 
Take  your  time,  let  digestion  proceed  quietly,  and  you 
will  die  of  old  age.  And  to  live  long  and  happiK',  is 
not  that  the  great  desideratum  with  most  people  ? 
Life  is  only  given  to  us  once  ;  let  us  make  the  best  of  it 
while  we  have  the  chance — we  shall  never  get  another. 

I  admire  the  independence  of  the  South  African 
shopkeepers. 

The  day  after  my  arrival  in  Cape  Town,  I  discovered 
that  my  stock  of  handkerchiefs  was  getting  small.  I 
went  to  a  draper's  shop,  and,  as  politely  as  I  could, 
asked  the  assistant  to  show  me  some  new  ones.  When 
the  purchase  was  made,  I  said  to  him  : 

"  Will  you  please  get  them  marked  for  me  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  take  me  for  ?  "  he  replied  ;  "  cannot 
you  get  some  ink  and  mark  them  yourself?" 

There  was  no  rudeness  in  the  expression  of  his  face, 
nor  in  the  tone  of  his  voice.  He  was  right.  Could  1 
not  buy  marking  ink  and  do  the  thing  myself  ? 


252  JOHN     15ULL    &    CO. 

"  It  is  not  a  service  that  I  ask  you,"  I  rejoined  ;  "  I 
am  willing  to  pay  for  your  trouble." 

"  It  is  not  done  anywhere,  sir." 

'*  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  I  ;  "it  is  done  in  France 
and  England,  for  instance ;  but  perhaps  you  never 
heard  of  those  countries  ?  " 

"  Well,  yes,  I  have  heard  of  them  ;  but  I  can't  say 
that  I  exactly  know  where  they  are." 

It  was  stupid  of  me  to  be  offended.  I  ought  to  have 
shown  appreciation  of  the  young  man's  independence 
by  buying  his  handkerchiefs.  I  went  to  another  shop 
near  by,  instead. 

I  related  the  incident  to  a  journalist  who  came  to  in- 
terview me  in  the  afternoon.  Later  on,  I  saw  the  mat- 
ter commented  on  in  the  press,  and  amongst  other  re- 
marks, the  following :  "  The  man  in  the  Cape  Town 
store  who  brusquely  replied  to  Max  CRell's  request  to 
have  some  handkerchiefs  marked,  '  Do  it  yourself ! ' 
was  unconsciously  presenting  to  this  student  of  national 
characteristic^  the  text  and  keynote  to  a  whole  treatise 
on  South  Africa." 

Independence,  then,  is  a  characteristic  trait  here.  I 
am  delighted  at  that ;  it  is  a  very  excellent  trait.  I 
hate  servility — but  I  do  love  politeness. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The  Dutch  Puritans — The  "  Doppers  " — A  Case  of  Conscience 
— The  Afrikander-Bond — Its  Relations  with  John  Bull — 
Tickets  at  Reduced  Price — John  Bull  Lies  Low — "  God  Save 
the  Queen  "  in  the  South  African  Republic. 

The  nations  that  John  Bull  has  conquered  have 
generally  received  the  Bible  in  exchange  for  their  terri- 
tory. The  Dutch  received  nothing  in  exchange  for 
South  Africa.  They  were  more  religious,  more  Prot- 
estant, than  the  English,  and  they  are  so  still.  As 
Puritans  they  outdo  the  Scotch,  and  even  the  austerity 
of  the  followers  of  John  Knox  cannot  be  compared 
with  that  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  Not  con- 
tent with  this  Reformed  Church,  the  Cape  Dutchmen 
and  the  Boers  of  the  interior  have  started  a  dissenting 
church  still  more  strict  and  austere,  whose  members 
have  received  the  name  of  "  Doppers."  To  these  good 
people  music  is  sinful,  and  their  monotonous  chants  in 
church  are  not  accompanied.  They  object  to  hymns 
and  canticles.  They  sing  verses  of  the  Bible  at  the  rate 
of  one  word  per  minute,  each  word  dying  away  like  the 
note  of  a  crow  in  distress.  These  Dutch  Reformed 
churches  dominate  the  English  ones  throughout  South 
Africa,  and  the  English  population,  to  avoid  the  possi- 
bility of  the  Dutch  outdoing  them  in  the  matter  of 
piety,  often  join  in  the  Dopper  devotions. 

The  Doppers  are  as  practical  as  they  are  pious, 
aud  when  they  have  to  decide  a  case  of  conscience, 
they  do  it  in  a  manner  favorable  to  their  interests. 

853 


254  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

^  For  example,  in  their  eyes  dancing  is  a  mortal  sin, 
but  although  they  let  their  halls  for  lectures  and 
concerts,  they  never  let  them  for  balls — without 
doubling  the  price  of  hire.  So  much  for  the  hall, 
so  much  for  soothing  their  conscience.  It  is  just 
what  the  Scotch  cab-drivers  do  in  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow  on  Sunday — double  their  fare.  John  Bull  has 
nothing  to  teach  the  Dutch. 

The  English  and  the  Dutch  at  the  Cape  would  do 
very  well  without  each  other,  but  they  live  in  peace 
and  co-operate  honorably  in  the  development  of  the 
colony.  It  is  true  that  the  Parliament  is  opened  by 
the  High  Commissioner  in  the  name  of  the  Queen  of 
England,  whom  he  represents ;  but  autonomy  is  so 
complete,  that  the  Dutch  feel  themselves  as  free  as  if 
they  enjoyed  that  perfect  independence  which  they 
hope  one  day  to  obtain  —  by  purely  constitutional 
means,  of  course.  At  present  they  form  the  Con- 
servative element  in  politics,  and  support  the  Afri- 
kander Bond.  This  association  calmly  pursues  its 
aim,  and  not  a  single  member  would  think  of  taking 
up  a  gun  to  hasten  its  realization.  It  succeeds  in 
making  the  Ministry  do  pretty  much  what  it  wishes 
without  giving  umbrage  to  the  Queen's  representative. 
Its  chief,  Mr.  J.  H.  Hofmeyr,  plays  in  this  colonial 
Parliament  the  part  which  the  late  Mr.  Parnell  played 
in  the  House  of  Commons — the  friend  or  the  enemy 
who  must  be  always  taken  into  account. 

The  members  of  the  Afrikander-Bond  hold,  with 
the  greatest  impunity,  meetings,  at  which  they  express 
their  hopes  in  the  frankest  terms.  What  does  the 
Government  do  ?      What  does  it  do  ?      It  sends  police- 


JOHN     HULL    &    CO.  255 

men  to  these  meetings.  To  arrest  the  orators  and 
hale  them  before  a  tribunal  for  high  treason  ?  Not 
at  all ;  to  protect  orators  and  audience,  and  to  assure 
them  of  their  right  to  give  their  opinions  in  public, 
even  when  one  of  those  opinions  may  be,  *' that  John 
Bull  be  turned  out  and  the  independence  of  the  South 
African  Colonies  proclaimed."  And  that  which  best 
shows  how  little  John  Bull's  yoke  makes  itself  felt  in 
the  Colonies,  is  perhaps  the  following  incident,  which 
always  seemed  to  me  extremely  piquant  and  full  of 
British  humor.  When  the  delegates  of  the  Afri- 
kander-Bond wish  to  go  by  train  to  take  part  in  some 
meeting,  held  in  the  provinces  by  one  of  the  branches 
of  this  patriotic  but  revolutionary  association,  the 
Minister  of  Railways*  gives  them  tickets  at  reduced 
fares.  In  presence  of  facts  like  these,  the  Dutch  have 
a  right  to  call  themselves  perfectly  independent. 

Thus,  you  see  for  yourself,  John  BuU  *' lies  low"  all 
the  time.  And  yet  there  he  is.  He  advances  by 
small  steps,  but  they  are  sure  ones  ;  and  the  English 
language  makes  such  progress,  that  in  the  free  library 
at  Burghersdorp,  one  of  the  most  Dutch  towns  of  the 
Cape,  I  found  two  thousand  English  volumes  and  about 
forty  Dutch  books. 

There  is  something  so  fascinating  in  the  English 
education,  that  the  young,  who  thrive  and  expand  in 
its  liberty,  get  anglicized  at  school,  whatever  their 
nationality  may  be.  English  education,  that  is  what 
makes  proselytes  for  England.  How  many  Frenchmen 
in  London  have   said  to   me,   with  a  sad  sigh,  '*  These 

*  The  railways  at  the  Cape  belong  to  the  Government,  and  are 
administered  by  a  Minister,  as  in  Australasia. 


256  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

English  schools  corrupt  my  boys,  and  I  do  not  see  how 
I  am  to  keep  them  French." 

The  young  Dutch  boys  at  the  Cape  play  foot-ball 
and  cricket,  and  get  anglicized  at  school. 

But  in  this  line  the  most  striking  thing  I  saw  was 
at  Johannesburg,  the  most  important  town  of  the 
Transvaal,  that  perfectly  independent  South  African 
Republic.  When,  at  the  end  of  a  concert,  the 
orchestra  plays  the  national  hymn  of  the  Transvaal, 
no  one  pays  any  attention,  and  the  audience  talks  and 
remains  seated ;  but  the  moment  the  first  notes  of 
"  God  Save  the  Queen  "  are  struck,  every  one  rises,  and 
all  the  men's  heads  are  uncovered,  so  that  you  really 
ask  yourself  whether  here  also  you  are  not  in  one  of 
the  branches  of  the  firm,  John  Bull  &  Co. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 


Mr.  Rhodes,  Premier  of  Cape  Colony — The  Man — His  Work — 

His  Aim. 

About  twenty-five  years  ago,  a  boy  of  fifteen,  con- 
sidered by  English  doctors  to  be  in  the  last  stage  of 
consumption,  set 
out  for  the  Cape, 
not  with  the  idea 
of  being  cured, 
but  to  prolong  his 
existence  by  a 
few  months.  The 
unique  climate  of 
South  Africa  cured 
him.  The  boy  is 
now  a  man  of  forty, 
in  perfect  health, 
a  millionaire  twice 
over,  Premier  of 
the  colony,  the  in- 
dispensable man  in 
South  Africa^ — and 
his  name  is  Cecil 
John  Rhodes. 

Mr.  Rhodes  is 
six  feet  high.  His  head  is  large  and  powerful  looking, 
his  eye  is  dreamy  but  observant.  He  has  the  quizzical 
look  of  a  cynic,  and  the  large  forehead  of  an  enthusiast. 

257 


HON.  CECIL    RHODES. 

[Frfftn  a  Photograph  in  the  possession  0/  ihc  Editor  of 
"South  /i/rica:'\ 


258 


JOHN     15ULL    ,!i:    CO. 


When  he  hiughs,  which  is  not  often,  the  left  cheek  shows 
a  dimple  that  you  would  think  charming  in  a  child  or  a 
young  woman.  The  face  is  placid  ;  it  is  that  of  a  diplo- 
matist w^ho  knows  how  to  wait  and  see  what  you  are  go- 
ing to  say  or  do.  All  suddenly  this  face  lights  up,  and 
the  gaze  becomes  resolute  ;  it  is  the  face  of  a  man  of 
action,  who  knows  how  to  seize  an  occasion  and  turn  it 
to  account.     His  dress  is  neglige,  and  his  hat  impossible. 


MR.  RHODES    HOUSE. 


I  have  seen  him  go  to  the  Parliament  House  in  a  gray 
cut-away  coat,  and  go  into  his  room  to  put  on  the 
black  frock-coat  which  is  de  rigiieur  for  the  colonial 
members.  The  sitting  over,  the  black  coat  is  put 
away  in  its  cupboard.  Prigs  take  offence  at  his  free- 
and-easy  ways.  There  is  a  story  that  he  was  once 
present  at  the  opening  of  a  new  railway  line.  The 
station  happened  to  be  by  the  sea.     In  the  middle  of 


jOIIxN     HULL    &    CO.  259 

the  ceremony,  all  at  once,  Mr.  Rhodes  is  missed,  and 
every  one  wonders  what  has  become  of  him.  Suddenly 
some  one  espies,  a  hundred  yards  off,  the  figure  of  the 
Premier,  en  Apollon,  coming  out  of  the  sea  and  going 
towards  his  clothes,  which  he  had  left  on  the  beach 
whilst  he  took  a  dip. 

Opportunist  par  excellence,  Mr.  Rhodes  serves  John 
Bull  and  the  Afrikander- Bond,  and  takes  care  that 
they  both  serve  him.  His  ambition  is  to  acquire  for 
the  mother-country  all  the  South  African  land  as  far 
as  the  Zambesi.  If  John  Bull  gives  him  a  free  hand, 
this  will  be  realized,  and  Mr.  Rhodes  will  be  Prime 
Minister  of  an  English  colony  larger  than  all  Europe. 
If  John  Bull  hampers  him,  and  busies  himself  too 
much  about  that  which,  according  to  Mr.  Rhodes, 
concerns  him  very  little,  you  may  one  day  hear  of  an 
independent  African  Confederation,  with  Mr.  Rhodes 
for  President  and  Mr.  Hofmeyr  for  Vice-President. 

Whatever  happens,  you  will  certainly  hear  of  Mr. 
Rhodes. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

South  African  Towns — The  Hotels — The  Usefulness  of  the 
Moon — Kaffirland — Kimberley — The  Diamond  Mines — The 
De  Beers  Company — A  Week's  Find — Life  in  the  "Com- 
pounds " — A  Disagreeable  Week  before  Going  to  buy  Wives. 

Just  as  in  America,  Australia,  and  all  new  countnes, 
there  is  terrible  monotony  for  the  eye  in  South  Africa. 
Pi^scribe  one  little  town  and  you  have  described  all. 
You  do  not  find  money  squandered  on  public  buildings 
as  in  Australia :  that  is  because  the  Dutch  element  acts 
as  a  curb  to  English  push  and  improvidence.  Every 
town  has  its  market-place,  in  Dutch  fashion — an  im- 
mense square,  where  the  Reformed  church  generally 
stands,  and  where  the  Cape  wagons,  veritable  houses 
on  wheels,  drawn  by  oxen,  and  conducted  by  Kaffirs 
armed  with  a  whip  ten  yards  long,  make  halt.  No  walks, 
and  very  few  walkers.  A  few  negresses  doing  the  street 
scavenging  with  their  hands,  gathering  up  the  ex- 
crement of  the  oxen,  and  carrying  it  away  on  trays 
borne  on  the  head  to  their  houses,  where,  when  dried, 
it  serves  to  make  fires.  Some  old  Dopper,  who  has  just 
risen  from  his  siesta,  walks  with  slow  tread  and  suns 
himself. 

With  the  exception  of  Kimberley,  which  is  lighted  by 
electricity,  and  Cape  Town  and  Port  Elizabeth,  which 
are  lighted  by  gas,  the  towns  are  nearly  all  lighted  by 
lamps.  A  few  towns,  such  as  Worcester,  George  Town, 
very  pretty  and  picturesque  places,  depend  upon  the 

260 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  261 

moon.  No  moon,  no  light,  and  people  stay  at  home. 
As  in  Australia,  no  drainage. 

All  this  strikes  one  with  astonishment  after  a  visit  to 
America,  where  httle  holes  of  a  hundred  inhabitants  are 
lighted  by  electricity. 

And  yet  the  country  is  not  asleep.  It  advances  with 
rapid  strides,  and  business  flourishes. 

The  hotels  all  resemble  one  another,  and  so  do  the 
bills  of  fare,  except  that  a  few  are  worse  than  the  others. 
Everywhere  the  same  routine.  At  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  the  nigger  knocks  at  your  door.  You  have  to 
rouse  yourself,  and  rise  to  open  the  door  to  him.  He 
places  on  your  night-table  a  cup  of  atrocious  coffee, 
which  I  advise  you  to  take  as  you  would  a  dose  of  castor 
oil,  toss  it  off  quick  and  do  not  think  about  it.  After 
that,  you  get  under  the  bed  coverings  again,  and  be- 
lieve that  you  are  going  to  be  left  in  peace.  Sweet  but 
short-lived  illusion.  At  half-past  six  the  negro  returns. 
You  are  obliged  to  get  up  again  and  reopen  the  door 
to  him.  He  comes  to  fetch  the  cup.  Useless  to  tell 
him  the  night  before  that  you  do  not  take  coffee  in  bed. 
That  is  no  business  of  his.  He  has  his  routine  to  go 
through,  and,  to  carry  it  out,  he  has  the  intelligence  and 
the  fidelity  of  a  French  sentinel. 

As  in  America  and  Australia,  if  your  neighbor 
at  table  takes  you  for  a  stranger  in  the  land,  he 
cannot  resist  the  temptation  of  asking  you  the  eternal 
question,  "  Well,  sir,  and  what  do  you  think  of  South 
Africa?" 

Here,  as  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  the  important 
towns  are  on  the  seaboard — Cape  Town,  Port  Elizabeth, 
East   London,   Durban.      Port    Elizabeth   has  a  great 


262 


JOHN     liVlA,    &     CO. 


commercial  importance,  and  the  future  of  East  London 
is  assured.  All  these  towns  are  now  in  direct  communi- 
cation with  the  diamond  mines  of  Kimberley  and  the 
*^old  mines  of  Johannesburg.  In  a  few  months  Durban 
will  be  so  connected  also. 

There  are  two  towns  that  I  would  advise  the  traveler 
not  to  miss — King  Williamstown,  a  pretty  place  embow- 
ered in  xerdure,  and  a  veritable  hive  of  activity,  and 
Grahamstown,  the  city  of  saints,  inhabited   by   16,000 


filreet   in  Kimttvljy 


human  beings  perfectly  petrified,  and  lighted  by  a  few 
paraffin  lamps  as  sleepy  as  the  inhabitants.  But  it  is 
the  journey  that  I  recommend  more  particularly :  about 
eighty  miles'  driving  to  do  across  that  most  interesting 
country,  the  centre  of  Kaffirland.  You  pass  through 
groups  of  kraals,  where  the  natives  continue  to  live 
as  if  no  white  man  had  ever  yet  set  foot  on  African 
soil. 

The  last  eighteen  miles  or  so  before  reaching  Grahams- 


JOHN     lilU.L    &    CO.  263 

town  present  a  series  of  enchantments.  The  country 
becomes  wild  and  hilly.  You  enter  Pluto's  Valley, 
along  the  bottom  of  which  you  pass  between  steep  and 
wooded  crags,  peopled  with  large  baboons,  which  gam- 
bol around  you,  or,  perched  on  a  tree  or  the  edge  of  a 
rock,  calmly  look  down  on  you  from  the  height  of  their 
grandeur.  Add  to  that,  at  about  six  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  a  marvelous  sunset.  You  will  arrive  in  town 
shaken,  stiff,  bruised,  famishing,  and  enchanted  with 
your  day's  journey. 

It  would  be  out  of  place  in  a  book  like  this  to  describe 
the  towns.  The  reader  who  wishes  to  obtain  precise 
information  about  the  population,  the  commerce,  and 
resources  of  such  and  such  a  town  in  South  Africa,  will 
find  them  in  the  numerous  guides  at  his  disposition. 
We  study  life  everywhere,  and  commerce  statistics  are 
not  much  in  our  line. 

But  we  must  halt  a  little  at  Kimberley,  whose  diamond 
industry  has  been  the  saving  of  Cape  Colony. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  streets  graced  by  pretty 
villas,  Kimberley  is  a  town  built  of  brown  mud  in 
the  midst  of  a  desert.  Its  market-place  is  the  vast- 
est in  the  colony,  but  it  is  surrounded  by  tumble-down 
buildings,  which  give  it  a  pitiful  air  of  desolation. 
At  Kimberley  you  wmU  search  in  vain  for  anything  but 
diamonds ;  but  as  this  search  has  been  so  fruitful  that 
all  the  companies  have  been  obliged  to  amalgamate 
so  as  to  regulate  the  production  and  prevent  these 
precious  stones  from  becoming  too  common,  Kimber- 
ley deserves  a  visit,  and  there  are  happy  people  to  be 
seen  there. 

Before  going  to  the  mines,  and  to  show  you  that  Kim- 


264  JOHN     HULL    &    CO. 

bcrlcy  is  not  an  adventurers'  camp,  but  a  town  inhabited 
by  intelligent  people  who  read  and  study,  I  must  make 
mention  of  the  public  library,  one  of  the  largest  and 
best  stocked  that  I  saw  in  the  Colonies,  and  which  pos- 
sesses about  fifteen  hundred  volumes  in  the  French  lan- 
guage, representing  all  that  is  best  in  our  literature, 
from  the  poetry  of  Malherbe  to  the  novels  of  M.  Al- 
phonse  Daudet. 

Twenty  years  ago,  a  young  negro,  serving  on  a  farm 
situated  between  the  Vaal  and  the  Orange  River,  found 
a  little  white  stone,  which  he  showed  one  day  to  a 
traveler  passing  through  those  parts.  The  traveler 
bought  the  little  stone,  and  sold  it  for  ;^5C>o.  It  was  the 
first  Kimberley  diamond.  The  news  got  abroad,  and  a 
crowd  soon  invaded  the  borders  of  the  Vaal.  They 
sought  and  they  found.  In  twenty-three  years  Kim- 
berley has  yielded  diamonds  which  have  been  sold  in  the 
rough  for  the  fabulous  sum  of  ^^3 5,000,000.  The  lovely 
Countess  of  Dudley  possesses  a  diamond,  called  the 
"  Star  of  South  Africa,"  valued  at  ;^25,0C)0. 

A  few  weeks  before  my  visit  to  Kimberley,  there  had 
been  found  a  diamond  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
carats.  The  De  Beers  Company  sold  it  to  an  Indian 
prince  for  the  pretty  little  sum  of  iJ^i 5,000. 

Companies  have  been  started  in  the  neighborhood, 
riches  have  been  reaped,  and  Cape  Colony,  which  twenty 
years  ago  was  at  a  very  low  ebb,  now  enjoys  the  greatest 
opulence.  A  few  years  later,  Johannesburg,  with  its 
gold  mines,  completed  the  fortune  of  this  land,  which 
compensates  for  the  aridity  of  its  surface  by  the  wealth 
that  lies  underneath.  Africa  will  lack  bread  and  water 
before  it  lacks  gold  and  diamonds. 


T, 


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265 


JOHN   r.ULL  &  CO.  267 

Under  the  guidance  of  Mr.  Gardner  F.  Williams,  an 
American,  the  general  manager,  I  visited  the  subter- 
ranean mines  of  De  Beers  and  Kimberley ;  and  near  by 
I  plunged  my  eyes  into  the  depths  of  a  pit,  the  surface 
of  which  is  twenty  acres  and  the  depth  three  hundred 
feet.  In  this  pit  negroes,  like  a  swarm  of  black  ants,  dug 
and  threw  the  precious  mud  into  the  tumbrils,  which 
went  ofY  and  emptied  their  contents  into  machines. 
When  the  sand  is  sifted,  it  is  sent  to  sheds  and  placed 
on  tables,  where  workmen,  under  the  surveillance  of 
lynx-eyed  watchers,  search  for  diamonds  with  little 
rakes,  and  throw  them  into  locked  tin  boxes. 

These  boxes  are  sent  under  escort  to  the  office  of  the 
company,  and  there  the  diamonds  are  spread  out  and 
classed  by  experts,  according  to  their  size,  color,  and 
purity.  These  different  groups  are  placed  on  tissue 
paper  on  a  table,  where  I  saw  over  ^^200,000  worth. 
This  was  the  find  of  the  four  preceding  days.  They 
were  of  all  shades — white,  yellow,  brownish,  some  red- 
dish-white, others  opaque,  others  of  a  bluish-gray.  The 
yellow  ones,  it  appears,  are  much  sought  after  by  the 
Turks  and  Indian  rajahs,  while  the  Americans  are  the 
best  customers  of  the  company  for  white  diamonds. 

But  that  which  interested  me  most  at  Kimberley  was 
the  life  led  by  the  miners,  in  whom  were  represented  all 
the  tribes  of  South  Africa — Kaffirs,  Zulus,  Pondos,  Fin- 
gos,  Basutos,  Hottentots,  etc. 

The  negro  who  works  in  the  mines  accepts  a  contract 
which  makes  him  the  prisoner  of  the  company  during 
the  time  his  engagement  lasts  ;  but  the  good  negro  is 
delighted  with  his  lot.  He  has  fresh  air,  good  food,  and 
amusements.     If  he  is  ill,  he  is  well  looked  after,  and  at 


268  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

the  end  of  a  year  he  has  in  his  leather  belt,  which  serves 
him  for  a  purse,  from  sixty  to  eighty  pounds  with  which 
to  buy  oxen,  and  with  these  oxen  to  buy  wives  who  will 
work  for  him,  and  allow  him  to  pass  his  life  in  the  softest 
of  far  nicntes.  So,  to  attain  this  end,  he  joyfully  accepts 
a  year  of  imprisonment.  He  will  sometimes  even  walk 
fiv^e  hundred  miles  to  reach  Kimberley,  and  try  and  get 
enrolled.  How  many  poor  whites  do  I  know  who  would 
consent  to  a  year  of  imprisonment  without  dishonor,  to 
live  on  their  means  for  the  rest  of  their  lives  !  The 
miners  are  lodged,  or  rather  barracked,  in  great  en- 
closures called  "  compounds,"  which  communicate  with 
the  entrance  to  the  mines.  The  "  compound  "  is  an 
immense  square,  surrounded  by  iron  sheds,  where  the 
miners  live  in  sets.  They  are  grouped  according  to  the 
tribe  to  which  they  belong.  The  centre  forms  a  large 
court,  several  acres  in  size,  where  they  amuse  themselves 
by  day.  They  cannot  have  any  communication  with 
outsiders,  and,  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  their  throw- 
ing diamonds  over  the  roofs,  the  whole  compound  is 
covered  in  with  close  wire  netting. 

Accompanied  by  the  manager  and  several  officials  of 
the  De  Beers  Com.pany,  I  went  into  the  court,  visited 
the  sheds  and  the  hospital,  and  I  can  say  that,  having 
seen  everywhere  that  crowd  of  negroes,  laughing,  amus- 
ing themselves,  and  all  looking  resplendent  with  health, 
I  came  out  of  the  "  compound  "  with  the  conviction 
that  I  had  been  looking  at  people  who  were  happy  and 
satisfied  with  their  lot. 

One  **  compound  "  is  occupied  by  two  thousand  men  ; 
the  other  by  nearly  three  thousand. 

Peacefulncss  and  order  reign  in  the  two  great  "  com- 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  269 

pounds "  at  Kimberley.  The  only  quarrels  that  ever 
arise  are  tribal  ones,  childish  quarrels  that  arc  quelled 
by  a  gesture  from  the  superintendent. 

When  the  miners  are  not  on  duty,  they  are  free  to  do 
what  they  like.  They  play  cards,  dance,  sing,  give  them- 
selves up  to  trivial  merrymakings,  dj  their  cooking  am- 
icably en  fainillc,  and  as  I  said  befcre,  pass  the  time  in 
the  happiest  fashion. 

As  you  see,  every  precaution  is  taken  that  no  diamond 
may  escape  the  company. 

The  only  semblance  of  cruelty  to  which  these  good 
blacks,  who  are  just  like  children,  are  submitted,  is  the 
regime  they  are  compelled  to  live  under  for  the  last 
week  of  their  engagement.  But  they  are  warned  of 
this  :  one  of  the  clauses  of  the  contract  which  they  agree 
to  before  entering  the  service  of  the  company,  gives 
them  in  detail  the  description  of  the  treatment  they  will 
have  to  undergo  before  being  set  at  liberty. 

For  one  week  they  have  to  live  naked,  and  in  com- 
plete imprisonment,  not  being  allowed  any  communica- 
tion with  their  comrades  of  the  "  compound."  They 
have  to  wear  hard  leather  fingerless  gloves  of  enormous 
dimensions,  which  prevent  them  from  using  their  hands, 
and  oblige  them  to  take  their  nourishment  like  four- 
footed  animals.  Their  belongings  are  taken  away  and 
searched,  and  during  that  week  they  have  but  a  blanket 
belonging  to  the  company  to  cover  them.  Their  bodies 
are  examined  in  every  part,  and  never  was  this  expres- 
sion used  with  stricter  exactness.  Their  teeth  even  are 
examined  ;  and  if  they  have  swallowed  some  precious 
stone,  the  gloves  prevent  the  possibility  of  their  hand- 
ling it  to  swallow  it  again.     In  fact,  every  precaution  that 


2/0  JOHN    BULL    Ha    CO. 

it  was  possible  to  think  of  has  been  adopted  ;  and  when 
this  week  of  incarceration  is  finished,  and  the  negroes 
have  left  the  *'  compound  "  to  return  to  their  homes,  the 
company  is  pretty  certain  that  not  one  diamond  has 
been  stolen. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

The  Country— The  "  Veld  "—The  Plateaus— The  Climate— The 
South  African  Animals — The  Ant-hills — The  South  Coast 
— Natal — Durban,  the  Prettiest  Town  in  South  Africa — 
Zulus  and  Coolies. 

In  South  Africa  the  land  is  scarcely  more  clothed 
than  the  natives  who  inhabit  it.  When  you  have  trav- 
eled north  for  a  few  hours,  all  vegetation  disappears  : 
no  more  trees,  no  more  shrubs.  The  grass  grows  on 
the  earth  and  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains  as  the  hair 
grows  on  the  head  of  the  Kaffirs,  in  httle  tufts  here  and 
there. 

In  spite  of  this  nakedness,  the  land  has  in  its  very 
desolation  a  grandeur  and  a  beauty  of  its  own.  Thanks 
to  the  blue  sky,  it  is  not  at  all  sad-looking.  It  is  an  or- 
iginal style  of  beauty,  and  if  you  are  only  careful  to  start 
from  the  principle  that  it  is  not  necessary  for  a  land- 
scape to  resemble  Devonshire  in  order  to  be  beautiful, 
you  will  easily  admire  those  that  South  Africa  has  to 
show.  From  the  tops  of  the  highest  plateaus  you  get 
views  that  root  you  to  the  spot  with  admiration.  In  its 
own  line,  nothing  grander  could  be  conceived  than  that 
infinite  stretch  of  veld,  scattered  with  flat-topped  moun- 
tains of  different  heights,  which  give  to  the  scene  an 
appearance  of  a  great  ocean  in  a  fury. 

And  the  climate  in  winter  I  I  saw  nothincf  but  blue 
sky  for  four  months ;  the  air  was  pure  and  bracing, 
the  atmosphere  dry  and  charged  with  ozone  ;  a  climate 

271 


2/2 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


In  which  a  person  with  only  half  a  lung  may  fairly  ex- 
pect to  die  of  old  age  like  the  strongest.  And  thus  one 
sees  numbers  of  Englishmen  who  have  come  and  buried 
themselves  in  little  villages,  where  they  are  dying  of 
ennui.  But  they  had  r  ther  die  of  ennui  than  of  con- 
sumption. And  they  are  right :  to  bury  oneself  in  an 
African  village  is  better  than  to  be  buried  in   Europe, 


THE    VELD. 


you  know  where.     To  live  anywhere  at  any  cost,  so  that 
he  lives,  is  man's  motto. 

The  ideal  climate  of  Africa  allows  you  to  undertake 
things  which  you  would  not  think  of  undertaking  in  any 
other  country.  Interminable  journeys  in  trains,  in  mule 
or  ox  wagons,  w  ill  be  powerless  to  rob  you  of  health 
or  good  humor,  A  sound  night's  sleep  invariably  dis- 
perses all  traces  of  fatigue.  You  were  so  jolted  and 
shaken  in  the  wagon  the  day  before,  that  you  felt  your- 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  273 

self  all  over  on  alighting,  to  see  what  had  become  of  the 
various  portions  of  your  anatomy ;  but  when  morning 
comes,  you  are  fresh  and  active,  ready  to  start  again. 

Traveling  in  South  Africa  no  longer  presents  any 
dangers.  The  natives  have  accepted  their  fate,  and  no 
longer  attack  white  people.  The  wild  animals  have  re- 
tired northward  as  civilization  advanced,  and  now  one 
must  go  as  far  as  Mashonaland  to  find  lions,  elephants, 
buffaloes,  and  all  the  big  game  of  Africa.  Tartarin 
would  find  no  more  lions  at  the  Cape,  in  Natal,  or  in 
the  Transvaal,  than  he  found  in  the  suburbs  of  Algiers. 
You  find  a  few  leopards,  monkeys,  antelopes,  and  ga- 
zelles, but  that  is  all.  The  antelope  may  still  be  shot 
in  the  neighborhood  of  almost  all  the  towns  at  the  Cape. 
These  creatures  are  the  prettiest  of  the  inhabitants  of 
South  Africa  :  graceful  animals  with  soft  brown  eyes, 
fantastic  and  symmetrical  horns,  they  present  themselves 
under  the  most  varied  forms.  The  most  curious  is  the 
oryx  gazcllay  or  gem-bok,  whose  parallel  and  perfectly 
straight  horns  are  a  yard  and  a  half  long.  The  oryx 
gazclla  is  the  only  one  the  lion  is  afraid  of.  When  it  is 
attacked  it  lowers  its  head,  and  its  adversary  runs  the 
risk  of  being  spiked.  His  majesty  Leo,  in  his  wisdom, 
thinks  twice  before  venturing. 

The  museums  of  the  principal  towns  contain  the  com- 
plete collection  of  African  antelopes.  The  finest  private 
collection  is  in  the  club  at  Kimberley. 

Ostriches  in  the  wild  state  are  now  rarely  met  with 
in  South  Africa,  but  the  country  abounds  with  farms 
w^here  these  bipeds  are  reared  in  innumerable  quanti- 
ties for  the  sake  of  their  feathers. 

But  on  the  veldy  nothing  :  no  animals,  no  vegetation. 


274  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

To  find  wooded  country,  you  have  to  go  as  far  as 
Bechuanaland.  The  buildings  are  of  stone,  of  brick, 
or  of  mud,  hke  those  of  the  ancient  Celts.  Wire  is  used 
for  fencing,  and  the  excrement  of  oxen  for  fires. 

The  South  African  desert  is  hardly  inhabited  now 
except  by  ants.  At  a  certain  distance  you  catch  sight 
of  what  you  suppose  to  be  the  huts  of  a  kraal  or  village 
of  the  natives.  They  are  ant-hills,  varying  in  height 
from  three  to  six  feet.  There  are  some  which  attain  a 
height  of  twelve  and  even  fifteen  feet.  These  ant-hills 
are  hermetically  closed  with  earth,  and  present  a  per- 
fectly even  surface,  covering  a  quantity  of  cells  and  gal- 
leries. Every  ant  remembers  its  address  more  easily 
than  a  New  Yorker  who  lives  at  1934  One  Hundred 
and  Forty-ninth  Street,  West. 

If  you  scrape  the  surface  of  an  ant-hill,  or  make  a 
hole  in  it,  the  little  yellow  ants  will  come  out  by  thou- 
sands, and  prove  very  aggressive.  Others  will  go  and 
tell  their  neighbors  in  the  low^er  stories,  and  presently 
the  whole  population  will  appear  and  entirely  cover  the 
mound. 

They  will  abandon  their  invaded  home,  and  go  to  seek 
a  new  site,  where  in  a  few^  weeks  they  will  have  built 
with  prodigious  activity  another  ant-hill,  just  like  the 
one  that  you  demolished  or  simply  injured. 

I  should  be  sorry  to  convey  the  impression  that  South 
Africa  has  no  pretty  scenery,  for  the  whole  south  coast, 
from  Cape  Town  to  Natal,  is  a  succession  of  beautiful 
landscapes.  The  forest  of  Knysna,  the  district  of  Oudt- 
shoorn,  with  its  passes,  its  caves,  its  interesting  ostrich 
farms,  the  Buffalo  River,  at  East  London,  with  its  hills 
wooded  to  the  w^ater's  edge,  reminding  one  of  the  Eng- 


JOIIX     ]\VIA.    &    CO. 


275 


lish  Dart  or  a  miniature  Rhine,  and,  above  all,  Durban, 
the  prettiest  and  most  coquettish  town  in  the  South  Af- 
rican Colonies,  with  its  massive  but  j^raceful  Town-hall, 
its  beautiful  public  gardens,  its  hills  scattered  over  with 
elegant  villas  set  in  sub-tropical  vegetation.  And  what 
a  contrast  to  the  eternal  monotony  of  the  veld !  what 
wealth    of   color !      Indians    in    picturesque    costumes, 


TOWN-HALL,   DURBAN. 

Zulus  dressed  in  white  tunics  bordered  with  red,  living 
and  moving  under  a  clear  blue  sky,  beside  the  intense 
blue  water  backed  by  green  hills. 

Durban  is  a  feast  for  the  eyes,  a  mignardisc. 

That  which  adds  greatly  to  the  pleasure  of  a  stay  in 
Durban  is  the  excellence  of  the  Royal  Hotel,  by  far  the 
best  hostelry   in   South   Africa.     It   is   built   around  a 


276 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


courtyard  full  of  palms  and  ferns,  among  which  foun- 
tains play ;  the  cooking  is  excellent,  and  the  service 
done  by   Indian  coolies,  whose  thoughtful  attentions 


rATAL    SCENERY. 


are  a  treat  after  the  indc*^'"ndent  manners  of  the  colo- 
nial or  German  gentlemen  who  act  as  waiters  in  South 
African,  as  well  as  in  American  and  Australian   hotels. 
What  a  sad  figure  they  cut,  those   poor,  emaciated, 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


277 


lanky  Indians,  by  the  side  of  the  Zulus,  who  are  the 
personification  of  health  and  strength  !  What  a  limp, 
nerveless  race !  As  one  looks  at  them,  it  becomes  easy 
to  understand  how  John  Bull  made  the  conquest  of 
India. 

In  the  out- 
skirts  of  Dur- 
ban you  see  the 
places  where 
these  Indians 
dwell,  tumble- 
d  o  w  n  shanties 
which  the  most 
wretched  and 
poorest  Con- 
naught  peasant 
would  hesitate 
to  lodge  his  pigs 
in.  Outside,  in 
the  sun,  sit  these 
miserable  crea- 
tures, dirty  and 
abject -looking ; 
women  with 
men's  heads  in 
their  laps  search- 
ing among  their 
lords'  locks,  monkey  fashion.  The  children  scratch 
their  backs  against  the  doorposts,  while  their  parents 
scratch  their  heads.  Most  of  the  animation  of  these 
people  comes  from  parasitic  suggestion  on  the  surface. 
The  more  industrious  of  them  work  on   the  sugar  and 


RAILWAY    STATION,    VERUI.AM,    NATAL. 
[From  a  Fhotograpk  by  V\.  ^.  Elierpiick,  Na!al.\ 


27^  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

tea  plantations  that  abound  in  South  Natal.     Others 
are  domestics. 

A  few  Parsees,  rich  merchants  and  tradesmen  of  the 
town,  fat  and  flourishing,  clothed  in  long  gold-embroi- 
dered  raiment,  form  a  curious  contrast  to  the  poor  half- 
clad  coolies,  whom  you  see  hawking  a  few  bananas  at 
the  railway  stations,  and  patronized  chiefly  by  some 
chattering,  merry  Zulus,  who  are  installing  themselves 
in  high  glee  in  one  of  the  third-class  carriages  provided 
in  this  country  for  the  colored  people. 


, 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

The  Natives  of  South  Africa — First  Disappointment — Natives 
in  a  Natural  State — Scenes  of  Savage  Life — The  Kraals 
— Customs — The  Women — Types — Among  the  Kaffirs  and 
the  Zulus — Zulus  in  "  Undress  " — 1  Buy  a  Lady's  Costume, 
and  Carry  it  off  in  my  Pocket — What  Strange  Places  Virtue 

^      Hides  in — The  Missionaries  Gone  to  the  Wiongr  Place. 


"e> 


It  will  take  me  some  time  to  forget  the  cruel  disap- 
pointment I  felt  on  making  my  first  visit  to  a  kraal.  It 
was  at  Port  Elizabeth.  I  had  not  yet  pushed  into  the 
interior,  and  had  only  seen  civilized  savages.  I  ex- 
pressed to  M.  Chabaud,  French  consul  in  Port  Eliza- 
beth, a  wish  to  see  a  kraal.  "  That  is  very  easy,"  he 
said  ;  "  two  or  three  miles  from  here  we  have  one.  and 
next  Sunday,  if  you  like,  we  will  go  and  see  it.  Most 
of  the  Kaffirs  who  belong  to  this  kraal  work  in  the  town 
all  the  week,  but  on  Sunday  you  will  see  them  in  their 
natural  state."  With  what  pleasure  I  accepted  the  pro- 
posal !     I  should  see  real  savages  at  last. 

My  visit  to  the  kraal  lasted  five  minutes.  I  found 
the  "  savages "  singing  Wesleyan  hymns,  while  the 
small  fry  played  at  ball,  and  whistled  that  all-pursuing 
air,  "  Tararaboomdeay,"  which  for  two  years  I  had  not 
been  able  to  get  away  from.  Decidedly  I  had  not  gone 
far  enough  yet. 

Most  of  the  towns  in  South  Africa  have  near  them 
a  kraal,  called  a  location,  where  the  Kaffirs  employed  in 
the  town  as  porters,  carters,  servants,  etc.,  live  in  huts. 

But  in  the  interior  of  Cape  Colony  and  Natal,  in  the 

279 


280  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

Transvaal  and  in  Zululand,  I  studied  the  natives  a  little, 
and  by  the  aid,  sometimes  of  Kaffirs  and  Zulus  who 
spoke  a  little  English,  or  some  English  people  who 
spoke  Kaffir  or  Zulu,  I  was  able  to  gather  some  inter- 
esting facts  in  talking  to  them. 

A  kraal  is  composed  of  several  huts,  generally  set 
upon  an  eminence  which  commands  a  view  of  the  sur- 
rounding country. 

The  hut  is  built  in  hive  form :  poles  set  in  a  circle, 
and  flexible  rods  running  horizontally  around,  the 
whole  perfectly  closed  by  means  of  earth  and  branches; 
one  single  opening  allows  the  air  to  penetrate,  and  the 
tenants  of  the  hut  to  enter  and  leave  their  residence 
with  a  stoop.  It  is  there  that  they  eat,  sleep,  and 
pass  their  time,  chattering  like  magpies.  I  have  seen 
as  many  as  twenty  of  them  in  a  hut,  the  diameter  of 
which  at  the  base  was  certainly  not  four  yards,  the  old, 
the  young,  the  babies,  all  swarm  together  with  dogs, 
fowls,  and  other  creatures  more  closely  domestic  and  of 
much  smaller  dimensions,  which  I  need  not  particular- 
ize. A  sickly  smell  of  rancid  fat,  which  the  bodies  of 
all  the  South  African  natives  exhale,  mixed  with  the 
smell  of  wood  smoke,  tobacco  smoke,  and  food  together, 
make  a  composite  perfume  which  it  in  not  in  my  power 
to  describe.  There  are  odors  which,  to  have  an  idea 
of,  you  must  have  smelt  for  yourself. 

I  passed  a  whole  day  in  a  kraal,  living  like  the  Kaf- 
firs whose  guest  I  v/as.  I  lunched  and  dined  off  mealies 
and  fruit.  The  bill  of  fare  was  not  recherche,  my  table 
companions  had  not  precisely  Mayfair  manners,  but,  on 
the  whole,  it  was  more  interesting  than  dining  out  in 
London. 


JOHN     lUIIJ.    &    CO 


281 


All  these  good  folk  seem  happy.  Children  of  the  sun, 
they  pass  their  lives  frolicking  and  showing  their  beau- 
tiful white  teeth.  The  women,  less  playful,  attend  to 
all  the  needs  of  the  family. 

Of  all  the  domestic  animals  invented  for  the  service 
of  man  in  South  Africa,  the  most  useful  is  woman. 
There  are  few  offices  she   is  not  called   upon  to  fill.     I 


TRIAL    OF    NATIVE  OUTSIDE  COURT   OF   JUSTICE  AT  A  ZULU  LOCATION, 

NATAL. 
[From  a  Photograph   by  H.  S.  Ellerbeck,  NaUil.\ 

have  seen  these  women  with  a  large  pail  of  water  on 
the  head,  a  baby  in  a  shawl  on  the  back,  another  pail 
of  water  in  the  right  hand,  and  a  can  of  mealies  in  the 
left.  With  the  body  erect,  a  swinging,  wagging  ino- 
tion  of  the  haunches,  the  shoulders  well  squared,  the 
back  hollowed,  they  walk  with  a  firm  and  regular  step, 
and,  as  a  relief,  without  removing  the  long  pipe  which 


282  JOHN    lUII.L    &    CO. 

generally  adornr,  the  mouth,  they  expectorate  right  and 
left,  describing  parabolas  fit  to  make  a  Tennessee  man 
expire  with  envy.  The  Kaffir  women  are  simply 
beasts  of  burden. 

The  habit,  contracted  in  childhood,  of  carrying  heavy 
weights  on  the  head  and  walking  barefooted,  has 
given  these  women  their  decided  gait  and  erectness  of 
body. 

The  price  of  a  wife  is  from  ten  to  sixteen  oxen.  She 
brings  her  husband  nothing  but  her  virtue,  and  he  asks 
no  other  dowry  with  her.  The  aim  of  every  native  in 
South  Africa  is  to  be  rich  enough  to  afford  several 
wives.  When  he  has  three,  he  can  knock  off  work, 
smoke  his  pipe,  loll  in  the  sunshine,  majestically  stalk 
about  the  kraal,  and  live  in  clover  generally. 

The  wife  is  all  the  prouder  of  her  husband  because 
he  takes  things  easily  and  makes  her  work.  She  ad- 
mires him.  "  Why  should  he  work,"  said  a  Kaffir's 
wife  to  me  one  day,  "  since  he  is  rich  enough  to  have 
wives  to  work  for  him?  If  I  were  a  man  I  should  do 
the  same."  There  was  resignation  and  logic  in  this. 
Oh,  Parisian  and  American  women,  who  keep  men  in 
leading  strings,  what  do  you  say  to  this  ? 

Jealousy  is  not  a  failing  of  the  South  African  women, 
and  all  these  wives  live  in  peace  together. 

The  wife  of  a  Kaffir,  a  Pondo,  a  Basuto,  or  a  Zulu, 
much  prefers  that  her  husband  should  have  many 
wives  ;  first,  because  it  means  a  sharing  of  the  work  to 
be  done,  and  also  because  it  flatters  her  pride  to  think 
that  she  belongs  to  a  man  who  is  well-to-do.  She  is 
proud  of  her  husband,  and  puts  on  her  grandest  air 
when  she  can  say,  "  My   husband    has   many   wives." 


N 

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283 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  285 

And  she  looks  down  with  pity  upon  the  woman  who 
has  no  companions  to  share  the  caresses  of  her  hus- 
band. 

Good  creatures,  who  understand  what  is  due  to  the 
lords  of  creation  ! 

You  should  see  them  going  to  fetch  the  beer  of  the 
country,  and  bringing  it  home  on  their  heads  in  enor- 
mous wide  pitchers,  and  then  standing  respectfully 
in  line,  upright  and  silent,  while  the  men,  squatting  in 
Turkish  fashion,  drink  out  of  the  pitchers.  This  is  gal- 
lantry of  much  the  same  stamp  as  Englishmen  exhibit 
when  at  certain  banquets  they  invite  the  ladies  to  look 
at  them  from  a  high  gallery. 

Here  is  a  family  on  the  road  :  the  man  in  front,  then 
the  wife,  followed  by  the  children.  I  have  seen  all  the 
inhabitants  of  a  village  walking  thus :  men  first,  next 
the  women  carrying  all  the  loads,  after  then  the  chil- 
dren, the  whole  party  in  Indian  file. 

The  children  are  winsome.  Where  are  the  children 
that  are  not  ? 

I  saw,  among  the  different  races  of  South  Africa, 
young  girls  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen,  superbly  formed, 
perfect  barbcdicnncs.  Their  skin  is  soft  as  velvet,  their 
shoulders  and  arms  a  sculptor's  dream.  But,  unfor- 
tunately, that  skin  has  no  elasticity,  and  early  loses  its 
freshness.  Married  life  and  motherhood,  which  so 
often  improve  white  women,  destroy  the  charms  of 
most  of  the  native  women  of  Africa. 

From  the  European  point  of  view,  they  are  generally 
ugly  in  face.  However,  I  saw  a  pretty  one  here  and 
there.  Among  others,  I  remember  a  young  Kaffir 
woman  who  had  brought  her  baby  to  the  doctor  of  the 


286 


JOHN    HULL    k    CO. 


district  to  be  vaccinated.  She  had  the  roguish  pretti- 
ness  of  a  Parisian  woman,  and  the  red  kerchief  bound 
about  her  head  and  jauntily  hfted  over  one  ear,  made 
her  quite  provokingly  picturesque. 

When  they  leave  their  huts,  the  Kafifirs,  both  men 
and  women,  wear  a  blanket  dyed  with  red  earth,  which, 
slung  over  the  shoulders,  adds  much  dignity  to  their 


DISTRICT   SURGEON    VACCINATING    ZULUS. 
[F/om  a  PhM'graph   by  H.  S.  Ellekbeck,  Natal.'\ 


appearance.  At  home,  the  men  are  clothed  with  the 
air  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  women  deck  themselves 
with  a  hundred  and  one  baubles  on  the  neck,  arms,  and 
legs.  From  the  wrist  to  the  elbow,  the  arm  is  gener- 
ally covered  with  a  load  of  brass  bangles. 

Of  all  the  natives  that  I  saw  in  South  Africa,  the  Zu- 
lus are   much  the   handsomest.     What  superb  fellows 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  28/ 

those  men  are  !  What  a  happy  blendinj:^  of  firmness 
and  gentleness  in  the  look!  what  dignity  in  the  car- 
riage !  Men  of  over  six  feet,  admirably  proportioned, 
whose  movements  are  simple,  dignified,  natural,  and 
graceful.  Nature  has  moulded  no  finer  male  figures 
than  these.  The  Zulus  an*  brave,  intelligent  people, 
moral  and  honest ;  and  what  helps  to  keep  the  race 
healthy  and  handsome  is,  that  the  men  and  women 
never  contract  very  early  marriages,  while  the  Kaffirs 
often  marry  mere  children. 

In  a  kraal  a  few  miles  from  the  rpot  where  the  un- 
happy Prince  Imperial  met  with  his  sad  and  untimely 
death,  I  saw  nine  hundred  natives  of  the  country,  men, 
women,  and  children,  who  had  come  out  of  theii  huts 
to  be  examined  by  the  vaccinating  doctor.  What  in- 
teresting types  there  were  to  study  in  this  assemblage  ! 

The  young  girls  adorn  their  heads  with  string:;  of 
beads,  that  hang  gracefully  about  the  ears,  their  necks 
with  more  beads,  their  arms  and  legs  with  circlets  of 
brass  and  beads,  and  around  the  waist  is  a  narrow 
leather  belt,  from  which  hangs,  in  front,  an  infinitesimal 
apron  of  beads  and  fringe.  W^hen  they  are  married, 
they  don  a  little  petticoat  about  a  foot  deep.  Their 
hair  is  greased  and  brushed  straight  back  off  the  fore- 
head, in  the  form  of  a  Turkish  fez.  The  women  are 
generally  much  smaller  than  the  men,  thickset,  plump, 
and  shapely  in  their  swarthy  beauty. 

For  the  sum  of  a  sovereign,  I  one  day  bought  the 
whole  costume  of  a  young  woman,  and  carried  it  off  in 
the  sido  pocket  of  my  coat.  After  taking,  off  the  last 
piece  of  adornment,  she  stood  there  a  few  moments 
smiling,  happy,  with  the  money  in  her  hand,  as  uncon 


288  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

scious  of  her  nudity  as  a  new-born  babe,  and  I  looked 
at  her  with  the  same  admiration  and  respect  that  I 
should  have  felt  in  the  presence  of  a  beautiful  statue, 
or  of  a  model  with  pure  sculptural  outlines  encased  in 
bronze  tights. 

Among  the  New  Zealand  Maoris,  the  young  girl  is 
not  virtuous,  but  once  married  she  is  faithful  to  her 
husband,  who  never  concerns  himself  about  the  life  his 
wife  may  have  led  before  he  married  her. 

Among  the  Zulus,  the  young  girl's  virtue  is  exem- 
plary. She  may  throw  everything  to  the  winds,  but 
never  her  virtue.  She  may  play  at  love-making,  but 
though  she  go  to  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  she  is  sure- 
footed and  will  never  fall.  She  knows  that,  so  long  as 
she  is  virtuous,  she  is  worth  sixteen  oxen  to  her  father, 
and  that  if  her  husband  discovered,  after  marriage,  that 
this  was  not  the  case,  he  would  send  her  back  to  her 
father  and  re-demand  his  oxen.  Her  fidelity  is  a  filial 
one.  Her  father  values  her  virtue  as  part  of  his  stock 
in  trade  ;  he  tends  her,  fattens  her,  and  does  his  best  to 
make  her  attractive  and  marketable. 

The  young  woman  is  proud  to  feel  that  she  is  valu- 
able, and  the  one  who  has  been  sold  to  her  husband  for 
sixteen  oxen  looks  down  with  contempt  upon  a  mem- 
ber of  her  sex  who  has  only  fetched  ten.  In  Zululand^ 
there  are  "sets  "  of  the  i4ppcr  sixteen  who  look  down  on 
the  lotvcr  ten. 

I  amused  a  Kafifir  woman  very  much  one  day  by  tel- 
ling her  that,  in  France,  a  woman  without  a  dowry  very 
often  did  not  find  a  husband. 

**  The  women  buy  their  husbands,  then,  in  your  coun- 
try ?  "  she  said. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  289 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  *'  and  sometimes  the  remnants  of  a 


man." 


Great  was  her  surprise. 

Her  reasoning  was  not  so  much  at  fault,  after  all. 
She  thought  that  it  was  m.ore  flattering  for  a  woman  to 
be  bought  by  a  husband  than  to  have  to  buy  one. 
Woman  has  a  value  in  South  Africa,  she  thought. 
What  can  her  value  possibly  be  in  France,  where  some 
old  notary,  who  marries  a  young  wife,  exacts  an  indem- 
nity of  two  hundred  thousand  francs  with  her  ? 

A  Zulu  one  day  confided  to  me  the  following  reflec- 
tions on  polygamy  in  his  country : 

"  It  is  polygamy,  boss,  that  is  the  cause  of  our  pros- 
perity. As  soon  as  a  Zulu  becomes  a  man,  he  works 
hard  to  save  the  money  to  buy  a  wife.  When  he  has 
obtained  her,  and  grown  tired  of  her,  he  sets  to  work 
again  to  earn  enough  to  buy  another,  and  so  on." 

Old  Zulus  of  patriarchal  age  go  in  for  matrimony. 
They  are  more  ambitious  and  fonder  of  women  than 
the  Kaffirs.  Besides,  in  their  hands  marriage  is  a  com- 
mercial enterprise.  These  shrewd  men  buy  wives  as 
other  people  buy  live  four-footed  stock,  to  increase 
their  wealth.  Thus,  when  the  Zulu  marries,  he  hopes 
to  have  many  daughters,  who  will  be  salable  and  bring 
him  oxen.  At  the  birth  of  a  boy,  he  makes  a  wry 
face. 

The  Zulus  are  virtuous,  moral,  and  honest  as  the  day, 
and  the  missionaries  who  have  settled  there  to  convert 
them  have  gone  to  the  wrong  place.  If  you  lose  any- 
thing, no  matter  what,  in  a  kraal,  and  a  Zulu  finds  it, 
he  will  run  after  you.  Now,  the  Zulu  can  run  several 
miles  without  stopping,  and   you  may  be  sure  he  will 


290  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

not  Stop  until  he  has  overtaken  you  and  handed  over 
that  which  you  left  behind.  These  remarks  apply  to 
the  Zulu  in  the  raw  state.  The  converted  Zulu  is  quite 
a  different  person. 

In  a  hotel  at  Pietermaritzburg,  Natal,  I  was  one  day 
admiring  three  splendid  young  Zulus  who  did  chamber- 
maids' and  errand  boys'  work,  and  I  asked  the  proprie- 
tress where  she  had  got  them. 

*•  A  long  way  from  here,"  she  said,  *'  in  a  kraal.  I 
never  engage  natives  except  in  the  raw  state." 

"  Why  do  you  not  take  them,"  I  asked,  '*  from  the 
missionary  schools  which  abound  in  the  neighbor- 
hood?" 

"  Oh,"  she  said,  shaking  her  head,  '*  none  of  those 
for  me." 

This  set  me  thinking.  After  all,  I  said  to  myself, 
this  is  only  one  person's  opinion.  The  proprietress 
probably  has  a  prejudice  against  the  missionaries.  I 
drew  no  conclusion,  but  resolved  to  put  the  same  ques- 
tion to  all  the  hotel  proprietors  whom  I  came  across. 
Everywhere  the  answer  was  the  same  :  "  No  converted 
Zulus  for  us." 

Many  English  people  will  be  surprised  to  hear  this, 
but  I  can  affirm  that  no  one  in  the  Colonies  ignores  the 
fact.  In  the  natural  state,  the  Zulus  are  honest,  and 
their  women  are  virtuous.  When  they  have  gone 
through  the  apprenticeship  of  civilization  in  the  mis- 
sions, the  women's  virtue  often  loses  much  of  its  rigid- 
ity, and  the  men  lie  and  cheat  like  "  Christians  "  of  the 
deepest  dye. 

The  Zulus  are  virtuous  and  honest  by  instinct^  and  it 
is  difficult  to  see  how  their  child-like   souls  can  be  im- 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  29 1 

proved  by  a  theory  which,  after  all,  may  be  summed  up 
in  these  few  words :  ''Do  not  sin,  but  if  you  do  sin, 
make  yourself  easy,  you  have  only  to  believe  and  all 
your  sins  will  be  blotted  out.  '  "  Let  us  sin,  then,"  say 
the  converted  Zulus  too  often  :  "  the  more  we  sin,  the 
more  will  be  forgiven  us."  It  is  not  the  seed  that  is 
bad,  it  is  the  ground  that  is  not  prepared. 

This  will  not  prevent  plenty  of  good  English  people 
from  continuing  to  send  missionaries  to  South  Africa, 
nor  from  making  collections  to  increase  their  number. 
I  simply  state  a  fact,  and  give  it  with  the  authority  of 
every  one  who  engages  native  servants  in  the  Cape  and 
in  Natal. 

Missionaries  have  never  done  me  any  harm,  and  in 
this  volume  I  have  not  to  try,  thank  heaven,  to  please 
or  displease  any  one.  I  say  what  I  think,  I  repeat 
what  everybody  in  the  Colonies  knows,  and  if,  in  so 
doing,  I  unhappily  offend  certain  people  who  think 
they  ought  to  feel  offended.  I  shall  sleep  none  the 
worse  for  it. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

The  Orange  Free  State — The  Transvaal — A  Page  or  Two  of  His- 
tory— The  Boers  at  Home  — Manners  and  Customs — The 
Boers  and  the  Locusts — The  Boers  will  have  to  * '  Mend  or 
End  " — Bloemfontein,  Pretoria,  and  Johannesburg. 

The  Orange  Free  State  or  Boer  Republic,  and  the 
Transvaal  or  South  African  Republic,  now  independent 
States,  were  a  few  years  ago  branches  of  the  firm,  John 
Bull  &  Co. 

The  Orange  Free  State  is  a  large  desert,  five  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea,  on  a  plateau  whose  superficial  area 
is  about  equal  to  that  of  France.  The  climate  of  this 
country  is  the  driest  and  healthiest  in  the  world.  The 
land  is  a  succession,  a  superposition,  of  plateaus,  hills 
and  mountains  crowned  with  enormous  boulders.  It 
is  desolation,  isolation,  immensity.  Only  since  seeing 
the  vast  landscapes  of  Africa,  have  I  had  a  true  idea  of 
space. 

Towards  the  middle  of  this  century,  a  large  number 
of  Boers,  wishing  to  escape  from  the  continual  en- 
croachments of  the  English,  quitted  the  Cape,  and 
went  with  their  flocks  and  herds  to  an  immense  district 
situated  between  the  Vaal  and  Orange  Rivers.  They 
soon  organized  themselves  into  a  republic,  and  began 
to  hope  that  they  were  now  forever  out  of  the  reach  of 
the  English. 

They  were  mistaken.  You  are  never  out  of  the 
reach  of  the  English. 

292 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  293 

The  Boers  have  a  bad  habit,  which  has  constantly 
been  the  cause  of  quarrels  between  them  and  the 
English.  In  the  eyes  of  the  Boers,  the  aborigines  of 
South  Africa  are  not  human  beings  to  be  conciliated, 
but  wild  animals  to  be  tracked  and  exterminated  when- 
ever occasion  offers.  When  they  did  not  kill  them, 
they  made  slaves  of  them,  and  drove  them  to  work 
with  great  leather  whips  that  they  would  never  have 
dared  used  about  the  oxen  that  drew  their  carts.  They 
neither  sought  to  civilize  nor  instruct  them,  nor  even 
to  convert  them,  for  they  do  not  admit  that  the  negro 
can  have  a  soul.  This  did  not  please  the  English, 
who  themselves  get  rid  of  troublesome  natives  in  the 
countries  which  they  invade,  but  get  rid  of  them  by 
a  much  more  diplomatic  process — conversion  and  diver- 
sion, the  Bible  and  the  bottle. 

In  1845  the  Boers  of  the  Orange  Republic  fell 
upon  the  Griquas,  an  important  tribe  living  to  the 
west  of  them.  They  were  going  to  exterminate  them, 
when  the  English  came  to  the  rescue  of  the  savages, 
vanquished  the  Boers  and  annexed  their  territory, 
under  the  very  plausible  pretext  that  their  independ- 
ence was  a  continual  menace  to  the  tranquillity  of 
South  Africa. 

A  number  of  Boers,  furious  at  seeing  themselves 
once  more  under  the  domination  of  the  English,  packed 
up,  crossed  the  Vaal,  and  settled  in  a  new  country, 
which  they  called  Transvaal,  and  where  they  soon 
founded  a  new  republic. 

A  few  years  later,  England,  fearing  not  to  be  able 
to  control  territories  that  were  attaining  such  alarming 
proportions,  allowed  the  Boers  of  the  Orange  Republic 


294  JOHN    }]ULL    &    CO. 

to  proclaim  afresh  their  independence  (1853),  an  in- 
dependence which  they  still  enjoy ;  but  when  the 
diamond  mines  were  discovered  in  1870,  just  where 
Kimberly  now  stands,  all  that  district  was  taken  away 
from  the  Boers  and  rechristened  British. 

The  Boers  settled  in  the  Transvaal  repeated  in 
1877  the  offence  which  had  cost  them  the  independence 
of  the  Orange  Republic  in  1845.  They  resolved  to 
exterminate  the  natives  of  the  territory  which  they 
had  invaded,  and  were  going  to  put  their  project  into 
execution  when  the  English  conquered  and  annexed 
them.  Everything  seemed  lost  to  them,  for  it  was  no 
use  thinking  of  advancing  farther  northward.  Their 
only  hope  was  to  reconquer  their  independence,  and 
that  at  the  point  of  the  sword.  In  1880  they  revolted, 
and  defeated  the  English  at  Majuba  Hill,  after  having 
killed  the  English  general,  Sir  Pomeroy  Colley.  The 
Transvaal  was  declared  free,  but  under  the  protection 
of  England,  on  the  25th  of  October,  1881.  Three 
years  later,  England  completely  retired  from  the 
Transvaal. 

It  is  now  well  known  that  the  Transvaal  and  the 
surrounding  territories  are  all  underlaid  with  gold,  but 
it  is  quite  certain  that  the  Boers  never  will  dig  for  it.* 
In  a  very  few  years  the  country  will  be  overrun  by 
gold-seekers  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  Boers 
will  continue  to  scratch  the  surface  of  the  earth,  but 
they  will  not  dig  far  below  it.     They  occupy  immense 

*  It  is  seriously  conjectured  that  it  was  from  tliese  parts  that  Solo- 
mon got  the  gold  for  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  Searches  recently 
made,  proved  that  a  civilization  formerly  existed  in  South  Africa. 
I  saw  in  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes'  study  a  beautiful  bronze  statuette  which 
has  been  excavated  in  Mashonaland. 


JOHN    I5ULL    &    CO. 


295 


tracts  of  land  which  they  do  not  cultivate,  and  in  their 
hands  the  country  makes  no  progress.  I  have  seen 
farmers  whose  farms  were  as  large  as  Devonshire,  and 
who  contented  themselves  w'ith  pasturing  cattle  on  a 
few  hundred    acres.      They  are   ignorant,  behind   the 


I'ROSI'ECTING  FOR  GOLD— TRANSVAAL. 
[Frffm  a  Photograph  by  H.  S.  Ellerbeck,  Natal.\ 

times,  stubborn,  and  lazy.  They  refuse  to  till  the  earth 
with  modern  implements.  They  do  the  kind  of  farm- 
ing that  was  done  in  the  time  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob.  Their  houses  are  often  like  pigsties.  Before 
going  to  bed,  they  take  off  their  boots,  and  call  that 


296  JOHN    BUIJ.    ^    CO. 

undressing.  The  floor  is  their  bed.  Skins  are  spread 
on  it,  and  there  all  the  family — men,  women,  and 
children — sleep  higgledy-piggledy.  Once  or  twice  a 
year  they  set  out  in  their  wagons  for  the  nearest 
town,  where  they  go  through  two  or  three  days  of  de- 
votions. The  richest  go  to  the  hotels,  others  erect 
tents,  or  live  in  their  wagons  during  their  stay.  When 
they  have  departed,  the  inhabitants  of  the  town 
fumigate  the  place. 

Take  all  that  is  dirtiest,  bravest,  most  old-fashioned, 
and  most  obstinate  in  a  Breton,  all  that  is  most  sus- 
picious, sly,  and  mean  in  a  Norman,  all  that  is  shrewdest, 
most  hospitable,  and  most  puritan  and  bigottd  in  a 
Scot,  mix  well,  stir,  and  serve,  and  you  have  a  Boer,  or 
if  you  will — a  boor. 

No,  the  world  of  to-day  goes  round  too  rapidly  to 
allow  the  Boer  to  stand  still.  He  will  have  "  to  mend 
or  end." 

For  a  long  time  the  Boers  refused  to  have  trains  in 
the  Transvaal,  because  this  kind  of  locomotion  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  Bible,  and  it  was  only  by  calling  the 
railways  "  steam  tramways  "  that  they  were  induced  to 
have  them  at  all. 

The  Transvaal  Parliament,  the  Raad,  has  refused  to 
have  the  Government  Buildings  insured  against  fire, 
because,  "  if  it  be  God's  will  that  they  shall  burn,  there 
is  no  going  against  it." 

The  most  sublime  thing  in  this  line  is  the  discussion 
which  took  place  in  the  Lower  House  of  the  Raad  on 
the  extermination  of  locur.ts  (Session  1893). 

I  have  extracted  from  the  papers  the  following 
account  of  part  of  the  debate: 


JOHN    HULL    &    CO.  297 

"  Dr.  Leyds,  Secretary  of  State,  read  a  communication 
from  the  Cape  and  Orange  Free  State  Governments, 
requesting  cooperation  in  the  destruction  of  locusts. 

''  Mr.  Roos  said  locusts  were  a  plague,  as  in  the  days 
of  King  Pharaoh,  sent  by  God  :  and  the  country  would 
assuredly  be  loaded  with  shame  and  obloquy  if  it 
tried  to  raise  its  hand  against  the  mighty  hand  of  the 
Almighty. 

"  Mr.  Declerg  and  Mr.  Steenkamp  spoke  in  the  same 
strain,  quoting  largely  from  the  Scriptures. 

**  Mr.  Wolmarans  proposed  a  general  day  of  prayer 
and  humiliation  for  South  Africa. 

"  The  chairman  related  a  true  story  of  a  man  whose 
farm  was  always  spared  by  the  locusts,  until  one  day 
he  caused  some  to  be  kilh.d.     His  farm  was  devastated. 

*'  Mr.  Stoop  conjured  the  members  not  to  constitute 
themselves  terrestrial  gods,   and  oppose  the  Almighty. 

*'  Mr.  Lucas  Meyer  raised  a  storm  by  ridiculing  the 
arguments  of  the  former  speakers,  and  comparing  the 
locusts  to  beasts  of  prey,  which  they  destroyed. 

'•  Mr.  Labuschagne  was  violent.  He  said  the  locusts 
were  quite  different  from  beasts  of  prey.  They  were 
sacred  animals,  a  special  plague  sent  by  God  for  their 
sinfulness." 

This  is  how  far  the  Boers  have  reached  in  the  end  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

And,  in  looking  at  the  assembly,  you  are  prepared 
for  anything.  A  few  intelligent  heads  here  and  there  ; 
but  the  great  majority  is  composed  of  rough-looking 
sons  of  the  soil,  with  large,  square  heads,  and  small, 
sleepy,  though  cunning  eyes. 

The  Boers  are  all  dead  shots.     They  do  not  wildly 


298 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


aim  into  the  mass ;  each  picks  out  a  man,  and  that 
man's  hour  has  come.  Every  shot  tells.  If  they  do 
aim  into  the  mass,  they  bring  down  their  enemies 
thirteen  to  the  dozen.  They  count  on  their  sure  aim 
to  preserve  their  independence. 

The  two  South  African  Republics  possess  three  towns 


BLOEMFONTEIN,  ORANGE    FREE    STATE. 

which  must  be  mentioned  :     Bloemfontein  in  the  first, 
Pretoria  and  Johannesburg  in  the  second. 

Bloemfontein  is  a  town  of  five  or  six  thousand  in- 
habitants, that  resembles  the  most  modern  towns  of  the 
Cape — a  market-place,  a  comfortable  club,  negroes,  dust 
ankle  deep  and  pure  air.  The  Parliament  and  the 
President's  house  are  rather  pretty  buildings.  At  one 
end  of  the  town    there    is    a    fort    garrisoned    by  the 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  299 

regular  army  of  the  republic,  which  is  composed  of 
about  forty  soldiers  got  up  like  Prussians.  But  if  there 
are  few  soldiers  in  the  two  republics,  every  man  is 
brave  and  a  good  shot,  and  twenty  thousand  men  are 
ready  to  bear  arms  in  defence  of  their  liberty.  Beyond 
the  town,  the  yellow  desert,  arid  and  dusty,  stretching 
away  to  the  horizon. 

Pretoria,  the  capital  of  the  Transvaal,  is  more  inter- 
esting. Verdure  has  been  brought  there,  pretty  houses 
have  been  built,  and  the  Government  Building,  which 
cost  over  two  hundred  thousand  pounds,  is  the  most 
massive  and  imposing-looking  public  building  in  South 
Africa. 

As  for  Johannesburg,  that  demands  a  special 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Johannesburpj.  the  Gold  City — The  Boers  again — The  Future 
of  the  Transvaal  — Miraculous  Development  of  Johannes- 
burg— Strange  Society — Stranger  Wives  and  Husbands — 
Aristocracy  in  Low  Water — The  Captain  and  the  Magis- 
trate. 

The  most  marvelous  monument  of  British  energy 
and  perseverance  is  Johannesburg,  the  city  of  gold. 

Johannesburg,  which  is  seven  years  old  and  no  more, 
is  to-day  a  town  of  60,000  inhabitants,  well  built,  pos- 
sessing first-class  hotels,  shops  as  important  as  those  of 
the  large  European  towns,  elegant  suburbs,  dotted  over 
with  charming  villas;  and  although  there  is  not  a  tree 
to  be  found  growing  wild  within  five  hundred  miles, 
Johannesburg  has  a  very  promising  park  and  beautiful 
private  gardens.  And  please  to  remember  that  the 
railway  was  only  brought  to  Johannesburg  a  year  ago,* 
so  that  each  stone,  each  plank,  each  nail  that  served  to 
raise  this  city  in  the  desert,  by  enchantment,  so  to 
speak,  must  have  been  brought  there  in  heavy  carts 
drawn  by  oxen,  at  the  rate  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
an  hour. 

Johannesburg  is  not  only  the  most  important  town 
of  the  Transvaal,  it  is  the  most  important  town  of  South 
Africa. 

The  Boers  cannot  boast  of  having  contributed  either 
to  its  birth  or  its  growth ;  Johannesburg  is  a  cosmopol- 

*  At  the  time  I  write  these  lines  (December,  1893^. 

300 


JOHN    BULI.    &    CO.  301 

itan  town,  where  every  nation  seemed  to  me  to  be  rep- 
resented except  the  Transvaal.  The  Boers  are  farmers 
and  sportsmen,  nothing  more.  Their  ancestors  were 
farmers,  and  they  do  not  conceive  that  they  themselves 
could  be  anything  else.  Ignorant,  bigoted,  behind  the 
times,  these  Dutch  Bretons,  transplanted  in  Africa,  cul- 
tivate the  soil  like  the  contemporaries  of  the  patriarchs, 
and  refuse  even  to  look  at  agricultural  machinery.  They 
do  not  change  their  ideas — nor  their  linen.  They  are 
hospitable,  slaves  of  routine,  dirty,  brave,  and  lazy; 
they  have  much  religion  and  few  scruples ;  they  are 
content  to  live  as  their  ancestors  lived,  and  ready  to  die 
on  the  day  that  the  independence  of  their  country  is  in 
danger. 

The  Transvaal  will  never  be  an  English  colony.  The 
English  of  the  Transvaal,  as  well  as  those  of  Cape  Col- 
ony and  Natal,  would  be  as  firmly  opposed  to  it  as  the 
Boers  themselves,  for  they  have  never  forgiven  England 
for  letting  herself  be  beaten  by  the  Boers  at  Majuba 
Hill  and  accepting  her  defeat,  a  proceeding  which  has 
rendered  them  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  the  Dutch  pop- 
ulation of  South  Africa.  Johannesburg  will  absorb  the 
Transvaal ;  the  apathy  of  the  Boers  will  be  bound  to 
give  way  to  the  ever-increasing  activity  of  the  English ; 
but  the  prestige  of  England  will  profit  nothing  by  this. 
The  Transvaal  is  destined  to  become  an  Anglo-Saxon 
republic,  which  will  form  part  of  the  United  States  of 
South  Africa.  With  me  this  is  not  a  simple  impression, 
but  a  firm  conviction. 

To  form  an  idea  of  the  significance  of  this  town,  so 
flourishing  to-day,  we  must  go  back  to  its  foundation. 

Johannesburg  has  been  raised  in  the  desert.     No  riv- 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 


rivers,  no  roads,  no 
trees ;  that  is  to  say, 
no  means  of  trans- 
port, no  means  of 
construction.  Seven 
years  ago  the  spot 
was  occupied  by  a  few 
tents,  which  served  as 
shelter  to  the  daring 
pioneers  who  had  ven- 
tured thus  far  to  seek 
for  gold,  at  the  risk  of 
death  from  hunger  or 
at  the  hands  of  sav- 
ages. It  was  only  at 
the  end  of  two  years 
that  they  could  get 
enough  wood  and  bcick  to  begin  the  semblance  of  a 
town.     The  greatest  hindrance  was  the  want  of  water, 


JOHANNESBURG, 
PAST  AND    PRKSENT 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  303 

and  those  who  wished  to  indulge  in  the  luxury,  I  do 
not  say  of  a  bath,  but  a  simple  ablution,  had  to  do  it 
in  seltzer-water  at  two  shillings  a  bottle.  But  irrigation 
works  have  been  carried  out,  and  the  town  now  pos- 
sesses reservoirs.  This  is  a  happy  thing,  for  the  price 
of  seltzer-water  has  not  changed.  In  Johannesburg  you 
pay  two  shillings  for  a  glass  of  beer,  one  and  sixpence 
for  a  cigar,  and  everything  else  is  proportionately  ex- 
pensive ;  but  the  inhabitants  earn  money  easily,  and  so 
no  one  grumbles. 

The  streets  of  Johannesburg  are  wide  and  straight ; 
the  town  possesses  pretty  theatres,  excellent  hotels,  and, 
I  repeat,  all  that  modern  civilization  can  demand. 

Experts  assure  us  that  the  gold  mines  of  Johannes- 
burg are  inexhaustible.  If  this  be  true,  and  I  do  not 
doubt  it,  in  less  than  ten  years  this  town  will  be  one  of 
the  largest  commercial  centres  of  the  world. 

At  present  it  is  a  gambling  den,  where  you  are 
blinded  by  dust,  but  need  strictly  to  keep  your  eyes 
open.  Alongside  distinguished,  serious,  and  most  hon- 
orable people,  you  have  a  decidedly  mixed  and  contra- 
band society — millionaires,  broken-down  swells,  shoddy 
barons,  and  financial  gamblers,  adventurer;=>  of  all  na- 
tions—  German,  English,  French,  Italian,  Greek,  Le- 
vantine, Jews,  by  birth  and  by  profession,  living  from 
hand  to  mouth,  passing  their  lives  between  the  hope 
of  being  millionaires  and  the  fear  of  being  bankrupt. 
Pretty  women,  with  painted  cheeks  and  tinted  hair,  on 
the  lookout  for  adventures,  dying  of  ennui,  passing  their 
lives  in  card-playing,  dining  and  dancing ;  while  the 
men  are  at  the  Stock  Exchange,  the  club,  or  drinking 
and  chatting  with  barmaids  covered  in  rouge  and  dia- 


304  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

monds,  and  whose  wages  are  twenty-five  pounds  a  month 
without  extras.  Dwelling  in  the  midst  of  these,  I  re- 
peat, exists  a  colony  of  delightful  people,  who  necessa- 
rily hold  somewhat  aloof  from  this  crowd — an  aristoc- 
racy of  manners,  a  choice  set,  composed  of  financiers, 
merchants,  engineers,  people  such  as  one  meets  in  the 
best  society  in  Europe,  and  of  whom  I  have  not  spoken 
much,  precisely  because  they  differ  in  nothing  from 
their  fellows  in  any  other  community. 

Well,  after  all,  the  history  of  Johannesburg  is  but  the 
history  of  San  Francisco,  Denver,  and  every  other  town 
in  the  world  to  which  the  discovery  of  a  precious  metal 
has  suddenly  attracted  an  adventurous  population  in 
search  of  easy  gains.  Towns  of  this  kind,  and  the  most 
flourishing  of  them,  are  like  revolutions — they  have  been 
started  by  adventurers.  I  do  not  by  any  means  employ 
the  word  adventurer  in  its  objectionable  sense. 

What  strange  ups  and  downs  they  see,  some  of  these 
adventurers  !  What  cases  of  pluck,  and  what  pocketing 
of  pride  you  meet  with,  and  cannot  but  admire ! 

In  an  Australasian  town  I  visited,  there  was  at  the 
hotel  an  Englishman  of  high  breeding,  good  education, 
and  perfect  manners,  filling  the  position  of  handy-man. 
He  kept  the  accounts,  watered  the  garden,  wielded  a 
feather-duster  on  occasions,  and  went  to  the  quay  to 
meet  the  boats  and  secure  patronage  for  the  establish- 
ment, wearing  a  cap  bearing  the  name  of  the  hotel  in 
red  letters.  This  man  had  been  a  captain  in  the  Eng- 
lish army ;  he  was  an  officer  no  longer,  but  still  every 
inch  a  gentleman. 

I  remember  an  English  lord  who  was  philosophically 
earning  his  bread  by  making  jam-tarts  in  a  Californian 


V 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  305 

town.  The  baker  who  employed  him  paid  him  a  dollar 
a  day.  He  accepted  his  position  without  much  mur- 
muring; but  he  had  one  thing  to  complain  of,  which 
was  thai  the  Chinese  cooks  in  California  worked  so 
cheaply  that  this  occupation  seemed  to  hold  out  no 
prospect  of  future  advancement.  "These  confounded 
Chinamen,"  he  would  exclaim ;  "  if  it  was  not  for  them, 
one  could  get  on  !  " 

What  pathos  in  these  few^  words! 

In  its  ow^n  line,  the  following  incident  is  still  more 
piquant : 

At  the  Cape  I  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  an  Eng- 
lishman, well  informed,  well  dressed,  full  of  good  spirits, 
excellent  company,  a  man  holding  a  good  position  in 
the  town.  I  met  with  him  again  at  the  club  of  an  in- 
land tow^n.  My  manager  and  I  were  talking  to  him 
when  another  gentleman  came  into  the  smoking-room, 
took  up  a  paper,  and  sat  near  by  to  read  it. 

"Ah,"  said  our  Englishman,  "there  is  my  old  friend 
Brown  ;  I  must  introduce  you.  He  is  one  of  the  mag- 
istrates of  the  town,  a  charming  fellow ;  he  will  be  de- 
lighted to  know  you." 

Gay  as  a  lark,  light  as  a  feather,  he  rose,  went  to 
fetch  his  friend,  brought  him  to  us,  and  made  the  intro- 
duction. 

*'  My  old  friend  Brown,"  said  he,  tapping  him  lightly 
on  the  shoulder. 

Mr.  Brown  bowed  rather  stiffly,  exchanged  a  few 
words  with  us,  and  reapplied  himself  to  his  newspaper. 

Our  Englishman  left  us.  We  remained  in  the  smok- 
ing-room. Mr.  Brown,  in  the  friendliest  manner  possi- 
ble, came  back  to  us. 


S06  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

''What  impudence,"  he  began,  "to  introduce  me  to 
you  as  one  of  his  old  friends !  In  my  capacity  of  mag- 
istrate, I  gave  him  three  years'  imprisonment  for  em- 
bezzlement five  years  ago." 

"  My  old  friend  Brown  !  a  charming  fellow ! "  I 
thought  the  thing  was  immensely  droll. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

"  Oom  "  Paul,  President  of  the  Transvaal— John  Bull's  Redoubt- 
able Adversary— A  Short  Interview  with  this  Interesting  Per- 
sonage— A  Picturesque  Meeting  between  two  Diplomats. 

Mr.  Paul  Kruger,  President  of  the  Transvaal,  is  a 
man  whose  personality  is  one  of  the  most  striking  in 
South  Africa.  One  may  say  that  on  the  figures  of 
President  Kruger  and  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes  all  the  political 
interest  of  the  country  is  centered.  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes, 
the  pioneer  of  British  civilization,  alert  and  enterpris- 
ing; President  Kruger,  the  old  Boer,  cautious,  slow- 
going,  patriotic,  the  last  defender  of  Dutch  interests,  a 
wily  diplomat,  who,  the  head  of  a  little  republic  com- 
posed of  about  twenty  thousand  men  able  to  bear  arms, 
holds  his  own  against  the  British,  has  foiled  them  more 
than  once  by  diplomacy,  and  once  beaten  them  in  bat- 
tle on  Majuba  Hill.  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes,  who  drives  the 
wheels  of  the  South  African  chariot ;  '*  Oom  "  Paul,  who 
acts  as  a  drag  on  these  wheels. 

His  Honor,  the  President  of  the  South  African  Re- 
public, or  of  the  Transvaal,  surnamed  by  his  people 
''Oom  Pmd"  (Uncle  Paul),  is  a  thick-set  man,  rather 
below  the  middle  height,  who  carries  his  seventy-odd 
years  lightly.  His  forehead  is  narrow,  his  nose  and 
mouth  large  and  wide,  his  eyes  small  and  blinking,  like 
those  of  a  forest  animal ;  his  voice  so  gruff  and  sonorous, 
that  his  ya  is  almost  a  roar.  From  his  left  hand  the 
thumb  is  wanting.     It  was  he  himself,  when  a  child, 

307 


3o8 


JOHN    LULL    cV    CO. 


who,  having  one  day  hurt  this  thumb  badly,  took  it 
clean  off  with  a  blow  from  a  hatchet.  He  barely  knows 
how  to  write,  and  he  speaks  in  that  primitive  language, 
the  Dutch  patois  spoken  by  the  South  African  farmers : 


OOM"    PAUL.  PRESIDENT   OF   THE   TRANSVAAL. 


/  isy  tJiou  tSy  he  is ;  We  is,  you  zs,  they  is.  Uncle  Paul's 
eye  is  half  veiled,  but  always  on  the  lookout :  it  is  the 
eye  that  he  is  obliged  to  keep  on  the  English.  The 
wily  one  says  he  does  not  speak  nor  understand  a  word 


JOHN    15ULL    i.-    CO. 


309 


of   English.     I   am  willing  to  believe  it,  although  the 
joke  is  hard  to  assimilate. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  being  introduced  to  "  Oom  " 
Paul  by  Monsieur  Aubert,  French  consul  in  the  Trans- 
vaal. It  was  in  the  Parliament,  or  Raad,  during  the  few 
minutes'  interval  allowed  to  the  President  and  members 
for  a  smoke   between  the  debates.     I  begged  him  to 


t:- :  ■^::  -  .afc.. 

n 

•^■■:  -    ^    ^^       :     '     . 

Et'a*-*-  ' 

w  ^^^'^'jBHr** 

^ 

mi'^m^m 

ifej-                *  '  x   ^  *S''"'  «^    '  '  '',~ 

X-^. 

1  ^  .  r^jfe 

'-     "^  "''.iH' "'^i>^-'^>^ 

m^£i^>iM2M3u:^^ 

M 

^^ 

'-'•V      ..%.:«;■  ■      ■■  .>..^««s*i-  '     ' 

iP^ 

OOM  "  PAUL'S    PRIVATE    RESIDENCE,  PRETORIA. 


give  me  a  few  moments'  interview  in  his  own  house, 
and  he  willingly  made  an  appointment  for  five  o'clock 
that  evening.  The  editor  of  the  Prcioria  Press  very 
kindly  accompanied  me,  and  acted  as  interpreter. 

I  do  not  know  if  President  Kriiger  took  me  for  some 
spy  in  the  pay  of  the  English,  but  I  seemed  to  inspire 
him  with  little  confidence,  and  during  the  twenty  min- 
utes that  the  interview  lasted  he  never  looked  me  once 


3IO  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

in  the  face.  Whenever  I  asked  him  a  question,  he  took 
some  time  to  think  over  his  answer ;  and  then  it  would 
come  out  in  a  weighty  manner,  the  words  uttered  slow- 
ly, having  been  turned  over  at  least  seven  times  in  his 
mouth.  Here,  in  a  few^  words,  is  the  gist  of  the  con- 
versation : 

"  I  suppose,  Mr.  President,  that  since  the  victory  that 
your  brave  little  nation  gained  over  the  English  on 
Majuba  Hill,  the  Boers  bear  no  animosity  to  England  ?  *' 

"  To-morrow  is  the  24th  of  May,  and,  in  honor  of 
Queen  Victoria's  birthday,  I  have  adjourned  the  Parlia- 
ment." 

Here,  to  begin  with,  was  a  response  which  for  caution 
I  thought  worthy  of  a  Scot. 

*'  They  fear  in  England,"  I  went  on,  "  that  the  victory 
may  have  made  you  arrogant." 

"  That  is  absurd  ;  the  English  might  easily  have  re- 
paired their  defeat  aiid  crushed  us.  They  recoiled  at 
the  iiea  of  annihilating  a  people  who  had  shown  that 
they  were  ready  to  shed  the  last  drop  of  their  blood  to 
save  their  independence." 

"  Johannesburg  is,  I  see,  completely  given  over  to  the 
English.  Before  ten  years  have  passed,  the  gold  mines 
will  have  attracted  to  the  Transvaal  a  British  popula- 
tion greatly  outnumbering  the  Boers.  And  Johannes- 
burg is  hardly  forty  miles  from  your  capital." 

**  The  English  are  welcome  in  Johannesburg.  They 
help  us  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  Transvaal,  and 
in  nowise  threaten  the  independence  of  the  country." 

"That  is  true,  Mr.  President;  but  the  Transvaal 
seems  to  be  now  surrounded  on  all  sides.  I  hear  of 
troubles  in  Matabeleland,  and  if  the  English  take  pos- 


JOHN    BULL    &   CO.  311 

session  of  that  vast  territory*  you  will  be  completely 
encircled." 

"  That  is  why  I  claim  Swaziland,  which  will  allow  us 
to  extend  our  country  towards  the  sea." 

'*  Towards  the  sea,  yes  ;  but  to  the  sea,  no." 

"  I  can  count  upon  eighteen  thousand  men,  sir,  who 
will  die  to  the  last  man  to  defend  the  independence  of 
their  country." 

And  the  only  reply  that  I  could  obtain  to  one  or  two 
more  questions  on  the  dangerous  position  of  the  repub- 
lic which  he  governs,  may  be  summed  up  in  these 
words :  "  We  are  ready  to  die,  every  one  of  us." 

But  they  will  not  need  to  die  ;  for  if  ever  the  English 
invaded  the  Transvaal  in  their  search  for  gold,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  the  government  of  it  into  their  own 
hands,  they  would  keep  it  an  independent  republic  ; 
that  is  to  say,  they  would  take  into  their  own  hands  the 
reins  now  held  by  *'  Oom  "  Paul,  and  the  change  would 
only  be  a  change  of  coachmen.  The  English  Crown 
will  not  profit  by  the  change,  for  the  Transvaal,  I  re- 
peat it,  will  never  be  an  English  colony  again. 

The  President's  mode  of  life  is  primitive.  He  smokes 
an  enormous  pipe  in  the  drawing-room,  where  our  inter- 
view takes  place,  and  expectorates  on  the  carpet  in  the 
most  unceremonious  manner.  His  salary  is  jCSyOOO  a 
year,  and  his  indemnity  for  public  expenses  ;{^500  a 
year.  He  saves  the  salary,  and  lives  comfortably  on 
the  indemnity. 

When  it  was  decided  that  Sir  Henry  Loch,  High 
Commissioner  for  South  Africa,  and  President  Kriiger 
should  meet  and  discuss  the  details  of  the  Swaziland 
*  They  have  taken  possession  of  it  since  this  interview. 


312  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

Convention,  they  both  journeyed  to  Colesberg,  and 
both  put  up  at  the  same  hotel. 

It  is  President  Kriiger's  habit  to  rise  at  five  every 
morning. 

Having  taken  a  nights  rest  after  his  journey,  Sir 
Henry  Loch  rose  at  six  to  take  his  morning  tub. 

On  his  way  to  the  bathroom,  in  the  usual  light  cos- 
tume, he  passed  in  the  corridor  the  quaint  figure  of 
**  Oom  "  Paul,  enjoying  his  early  smoke,  in  a  frock  coat 
covered  with  orders,  a  high  hat,  and — slippers. 

Opposite  his  house  stands  a  church  where  the  Dop- 
pers  of  Pretoria  assemble  on  Sundays.  It  is  often 
"  Oom  "  Paul  who  preaches  the  sermon.  He  loves 
theological  discussions  He  is  a  mixture  of  the  Scot 
and  the  Norman.  Even  this  mixture  fails  to  give  an 
idea  of  the  shrewd  and  clever  Dopper. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

The  Success  of  the  Firm,  John  Bull  &  Co.  —  The  Explana- 
tion— The  Freest  Countries  of  the  World — illustrations  to 
Prove  it — The  Future  of  the  British  Empire — Reflections  of 
a  Sour  Critic — Advice  to  Young  Men — And  Now  Let  Us 
Go  and  Look  on  an  Old  Wall  Covered  with  Ivy. 

It  is  neither  by  his  intelligence  nor  by  his  talents  that 
John  Bull  has  built  up  that  British  Empire,  of  which 
this  little  volume  can  give  the  reader  but  a  faint  idea ; 
it  is  by  the  force  of  his  character. 

Thomas  Carlyle  calls  the  English  "  of  all  the  Nations 
in  the  World  the  stupidest  in  speech,"  but  he  also 
rightly  calls  them  ''  the  wisest  in  action."  It  is  true  that 
John  Bull  is  slow  to  conceive  ;  but  when  he  has  taken 
a  resolution  there  is  no  obstacle  that  will  prevent  his 
putting  it  into  execution.  There  are  three  qualities 
that  guarantee  success  to  those  who  possess  them.  John 
Bull  has  them  all  three  :  an  audacity  that  allows  him 
to  undertake  any  enterprise,  a  dogged  perseverance 
that  makes  him  carry  it  through,  and  a  philosophy  that 
makes  him  look  upon  any  little  defeats  he  may  now  and 
then  meet  with  as  so  many  moral  victories  that  he  has 
won.  He  never  owns  himself  beaten,  never  doubts  of 
the  final  success  of  his  enterprise  ;  and  is  not  a  battle 
half  won  wdien  one  is  sure  of  gaining  the  victory  ? 

To  keep  up  the  British  Empire,  an  empire  of  more 
than  four  hundred  million  souls,  scattered  all  over  the 
globe,  to  add  to  its  size  day  by  day  by  diplomacy,  by  a 

313 


314  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

discreetness  which  hides  all  the  machinery  of  govern- 
ment, without  functionaries,  with  a  handful  of  soldiers 
and  more  often  mere  volunteers,  is  it  anything  short  of 
marvelous?   And  at  this  hour,  I  guarantee  that  not  one 
single  colony  causes  John  Bull  the  least  apprehension. 

One  magistrate  and  a  dozen  policemen  administer 
and  keep  in  order  districts  as  large  as  five  or  six  de- 
partments of  France.  There  is  the  same  justice  for  the 
natives  as  for  the  colonists.  No  Lynch  law,  as  in  Amer- 
ica. The  native,  accused  of  the  most  atrocious  crime, 
gets  a  fair  trial,  and  a  proper  jury  decides  whether 
he  is  innocent  or  guilty. 

All  those  young  nationalities,  Canada,  Australia,  New 
Zealand,  and  South  Africa,  enjoy  the  most  complete 
liberty,  political  and  social.  The  English  respect  their 
susceptibilities  so  much,  that  during  the  Transvaal  War, 
the  Cape  Parliament  having  decided  to  refuse  to  allow 
the  English  troops  to  disembark  at  Cape  Town,  Gen- 
eral Roberts  and  his  army  were  obliged  to  land  at  Dur- 
ban, and  arrived  too  late  to  save  General  Colley,  who 
was  killed  at  Majuba  Hill,  or  to  prevent  the  destruc- 
tion of  his  men.  John  Bull  did  not  consider  himself 
more  at  home  at  the  Cape  on  this  occasion  than  a  fa- 
ther visiting  his  son-in-law  would  consider  himself  in  his 
own  house. 

During  my  stay  in  Africa  a  company  of  musicians 
announced  a  concert  at  Bloemfontein,  the  Boer  capital. 
According  to  the  English  custom,  the  program  was  to 
terminate  with  **  God  save  the  Queen." 

It  was  a  want  of  tact  on  the  part  of  the  artistes,  no 
doubt. 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  315 

The  authorities  ordered  that  the  English  national 
anthem  should  be  taken  out  of  the  program. 

If,  in  any  part  of  the  British  Empire,  any  singer  took 
it  into  his  head  to  sing  "  God  save  the  President  of  the 
Boer  Republic,"  I  guarantee  that  there  would  be  no 
objection  raised  to  it.  On  the  contrary,  the  English 
would  probably  say,  "  Why,  that  is  a  song  quite  new  to 
us,  let  us  go  to  hear  it." 

The  Chief-Justice,  the  first  magistrate  of  the  colony 
of  Victoria  in  1892,  was  a  republican,  a  partisan  of  Aus- 
tralian autonomy.  He  hid  his  opinions  from  no  one : 
but  his  talents  as  a  jurisconsult  and  his  reputation  as  a 
man  of  integrity  were  so  well  known  and  appreciated, 
that  John  Bull  did  not  hesitate  an  instant  about  placing 
him  at  the  head  of  the  colonial  bench. 

All  these  new  countries,  which  are  so  many  outlets 
for  the  commerce  of  the  world,  are  not  monopolized  by 
the  English  for  their  own  use  only.  People  from  other 
nations  may  go  there  and  settle  without  having  any  for- 
mality to  go  through,  or  any  foreign  tax  to  pay.  They 
may  go  on  speaking  their  own  language,  practicing  their 
own  religion,  and  may  enjoy  every  right  of  citizenship. 
And  if  they  are  not  too  stubborn  or  too  old  to  learn, 
they  may  lay  to  heart  many  good  lessons  in  those  nurs- 
eries of  liberty. 

If  I  have  not  succeeded  in  proving  that,  in  spite  of 
their  hundred  and  one  foibles,  the  Anglo-Saxons  are 
the  only  people  on  this  earth  who  enjoy  perfect  liberty, 
I  haye  lost  my  time,  and  I  have  made  you  lose  yours, 
dear  reader. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Colonies  in  the  present  day 


3l6  JOHN    HULL    c\:    CO. 

are  proud  to  call  themselves  Australians,  Canadians, 
and  Afrikanders.  The  spirit  of  nationality  grows 
stronger  day  by  day,  and  it  is  John  Bull  himself  who 
feeds  it.  Every  Englishman  who  goes  and  settles  in 
the  Colonies,  ceases  after  a  few  years  to  be  English  ; 
he  is  a  Canadian,  an  Australian,  or  an  Afrikander,  and 
swears  by  his  new  country.  These  Anglo-Saxons  have 
an  aptitude,  a  genius,  for  government  inborn  in  them, 
and  it  is  out  of  pure  politeness  toward  the  old  mother- 
country  that  they  accept  the  Governors  she  sends  them, 
and  this  only  on  the  understood  condition  that  they 
shall  occupy  themselves  as  little  about  politics  as  do  the 
Queen  and  members  of  the  Royal  Family.  If  the 
Queen  of  England  dared  to  say  in  public  that  she  pre- 
ferred Conservatives  to  Liberals,  the  English  monarchy 
would  not  have  ten  years  to  live.  If  the  Governor  of 
any  colony  allowed  himself  to  speak  on  politics  in  pub- 
lic, except  by  the  mouth  of  ministers  elected  by  the 
people,  that  colony  would  proclaim  its  independence 
the  week  after,  and  the  Governor  would  have  to  avail 
himself  of  the  first  steamer  sailing  for  England. 

If  ever  any  colony  mentioned  in  this  volume  should 
proclaim  her  independence,  she  may  gain  prestige  in 
her  ow'n  eyes,  but  she  will  not  be  casting  off  any  yoke, 
for  she  could  not  be  freer  than  she  is  at  present.  She 
will  be  a  junior  partner  starting  business  on  her  own 
account,  and  thenceforth  dispensing  with  the  help  of  the 
head  of  the  firm,  who  guided  her  early  steps  without 
ever  demanding  an  account  of  her  movements. 

There  are  many  people  in  England  who  believe  that 
the  future  fate  of  the  British  Empire  is  to  be  a  Con- 
federation, having  Ltmdon  for  its  centre,  and  that  the 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  317 

Colonics  will  favor  the  scheme.  If  there  is  one  pro- 
found conviction  that  I  have  acquired  in  all  my  travels 
among  the  Anglo-Saxons  in  the  different  parts  of  the 
world,  it  is  that  the  Colonies  do  not  want  confedera- 
tion, and  will  never  move  toward  the  realization  of  this 
dream  in  which  so  many  patriotic  Britons  indulge.  To 
begin  with,  the  Colonies  are  much  too  jealous  of  one 
another  to  care  for  amalgamation.  Each  one  will  in- 
sist on  keeping  its  individuality,  nay,  its  nationality. 
Moreover,  not  one  of  them  has  the  least  tlesire  to  be 
mixed  up  in  any  cjuarrels  that  England  may  one  tlay 
have  with  any  European  power.  John  lUdl  would  be 
wise  to  get  the  confederation  idea  out  of  his  head. 
With  the  exception  of  Canada,  which  may  possibly  one 
day  become  part  of  the  United  States,  the  Colonies  will 
remain  branches  of  the  firm,  John  Bull  &  Co.,  or  they 
will  become  independent.  For  any  one  who  has  felt 
the  pulse  of  those  countries,  it  is  impossible  to  think 
otherwise. 

A  sour  and  unkind  critic  might  thus  sum  up  his  im- 
pressions of  the  British  Colonies  in  the  southern  hem- 
isphere :  "  I  have  seen  mountains  without  trees  (South 
Africa),  trees  without  shade  (Australia),  plains  without 
herbage,  rivers  without  water,  flowers  without  perfume, 
birds  without  songs,  a  sun  without  pity,  dust  without 
mercy,  towns  without  interest,"  etc. 

A  kinder  and  fairer  critic  would  reply  to  this  asser- 
tion :  "  It  is  certain  that  the  countries  which  have  a  fu- 
ture are  less  interesting  to  the  traveler  with  artistic 
tastes  than  the  countries  which  have  a  lonir  historv. 
America  and  the  Colonies  have  no  old   cathedrals  nor 


3l8  JOHN    BULL    &    CO. 

ruined  castles  to  show.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Colo- 
nies are  enterprising  people,  who  in  half  a  century  have 
founded  cities,  I  might  say  nations,  capable  of  compet- 
ing in  commercial  importance  with  cities  and  nations 
that  it  has  taken  ten  centuries  to  develop.  I  have  seen 
in  the  Colonies,  skies  without  clouds,  winters  without 
cold,  festivity  without  boredom,  food  almost  without 
cost,  hospitality  without  calculation,  millionaires  with- 
out pride,  birds  with  gorgeous  plumage,  trees  with 
health-giving  properties  (how  such  a  list  could  be  ex- 
tended !),  and  kind  hearts  everywhere." 

There  are  two  kinds  of  critics,  those  who  complain 
that  roses  have  thorns,  others  who  are  grateful  that 
thorns  have  roses. 

The  colonials  have  all  the  qualities  and  all  the  little 
foibles  of  the  English,  and  if  isolation  has  intensified 
some  of  their  faults,  it  has  also  accentuated  their  vir- 
tues. 

For  any  young  man,  steady,  hard-working,  and  per- 
severing, no  country  offers  such  present  advantages 
and  future  chances  as  the  Colonies. 

The  Colonies  have  no  room  for  blase  young  Euro- 
peans who  have  only  the  remnants  of  themselves  to 
offer.  They  are  like  fair  young  brides  with  the  con- 
sciousness of  their  own  worth ;  what  they  want  is  fresh 
and  ardent  youth,  workers  of  all  sorts,  skilled  artisans, 
intelligent  vineyard  hands,  hardy  field  laborers,  men 
with  healthy  bodies  and  upright  minds,  practical  and 
laborious.  To  all  such  the  Colonies  promise  success, 
and  invariably  keep  their  word. 

If  I  were  a  young  man  of  twenty,  I  would  probably 


JOHN    BULL    &    CO.  319 

go  and  settle  in  one  of  these  young  countries,  but  I 
have  arrived  at  an  age  when  it  is  hardly  possible  for  a 
man  to  start  a  new  life.  I  am  too  much  attached  by  a 
life's  souvenirs  to  old  Europe  to  be  able  now  to  do 
without  her. 

After  years  of  travels  through  new  countries,  I  was 
longing  to  see  some  old  ruin  that  would  remind  me  that 
the  world  had  other  pages  than  these  freshly  written 
ones. 

The  day  before  I  left  South  Africa  to  return  to  Eu- 
rope, Sir  Thomas  Upington,  the  genial  and  witty  judge 
of  Cape  Town,  said  to  me  : 

"  Well,  after  all  these  long  travels,  what  are  you  going 
to  do  now  ?  " 

**  What  am  I  going  to  do  ?  "  I  replied.  "  I  am  going 
to  Europe  to  look  at  some  old  wall  with  a  bit  of  ivy 
on  it." 


